TUSKS play the Piston tonight (Thursday, November 1). See listing. Rating: NNNN
Tusks songwriter/bassist Samir Khan took his time with Total Entertainment, the Toronto band’s first recording in four years and their debut full-length. It also features a new lineup: guitarist Jordan Howard, pianist Shaw-han Liem and drummer Steven McKay.
Despite its trim length (just over half an hour), the album feels epic, which can partly be attributed to the song-to-song genre-jumping and partly to Khan’s dense, poetic, cerebral lyrics.
Though not entertaining in the mainstream sense of the word, it’s a fulfilling listen. Oceans is bubbly on the surface but lyrically profound, while New To Old Money has fun jangle. There’s also frenetic guitar rock, Police-like funk and a touch of prog. Album closer To See It Through, meanwhile, is a musically stripped-down love song with complex lyrics.
Khan’s a soft singer, and his voice is lowish in the mix, so you may want to consult the lyrics sheet.
Top track: Oceans