At first,
Tilly And The Wall seems like nothing more than a band with the gimmicky tap dancer
instead of a drummer. Turns out it's no gimmick, though: The Omaha band's
debut, Wild Like Children, was excellent, and its sophomore slump, Bottoms Of
Barrels, was very
mild. With O,
the group isn't interested in stunts or reinventing the pop song: They just
want the freedom to try whatever rhythms might work. "Pot Kettle Black" makes
like the girl-gang version of The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army,"
stomp-along chorus and all; the tap-dancing doesn't even show up until the
third track, and the band feels free to bounce it off a full kit, stick to just
drums, or ditch everything and go electro-pop. Lyrically, things remains a bit
on the angsty-teen track, with an unhealthy dose of '50s JD drama: There's much
talk of hearing "rock 'n' roll" from someone's radio and unrequited love all
round. But Tilly And The Wall are excellent at writing instantly infectious pop
songs ("Dust Me Off" may be their best yet), and they've finally corralled a
full palate to go with it.