Are you a winter whiner? Are you dreaming of the day when you can roll down your car window and play airplane with your hand? Well park yourself in front of a window, crank up the volume and let Tampa’s extraordinarily warm Belated Love melt that snow.
Tampa cuts right through the bullshit and showcases exactly what this band is great at – making you move. With bright guitar tracks, piled atop of sing-songy choruses, this album is fun from track one to track done.
Belated Love makes me want to head right to Memramcook, where it was recorded. I need to see how this band distilled a California-esque road trip into 12 songs, while nestled away in rural New Brunswick. Maybe it is not the band’s intention, but rather, my own psyche and sense of nostalgia, that allows Tampa to transport me to a seaside road, winding on into forever. Maybe, just maybe, your listening experience will be different. That said, I am willing to wager that by the time you hit the stand-out “Synth Quirk” you will be bringing up your calendar and clearing everything. These tracks are a troubadour’s call to arms for adventure.
Halfway through the track list, things slow down. “Fold Yourself” comes on and it is as if we are at the pump, gassing up. The track builds nicely and finds a pocket of energy towards the end that makes us want to get back into the driver’s seat. A quick, jammy interlude accompanies us as we pull back on to the open road.
Then the trip continues. The back half of “Belated Love” builds upon everything they laid out for us in the first six tracks. By now your toes have been tapping relentlessly. Your neck shows no signs of fatigue as it enters its thousandth bob and as you bring your back up to see what lies ahead, you find yourself singing along to a chorus you just learned and will sty with you for a long while yet.
Even as I type this up, re-listening to the album for a tenth time, I am no more able to set the jumpy, beats aside to get my work done. The keyboard is an instrument forced to follow in step with the melodies oozing out of the speakers. My tempo is determined. My pace is set – I work at Tampa speed now. I think I will all Summer.
The song that encapsulates this hook laden album best is, fittingly, the title track: “Belated Love”. This is your Tampa gateway drug. This is the opener you want to play for any one you want riding shotgun with you.
There is a steady groove that runs through this entire album. It helps connect each song and carries you over the hills and into the canyons of this fun as hell track by track trip. It is almost as if Tampa was planning on you pulling out of your driveway with “Hot Minute” blaring and not having the trip end until the closer “The Pull” fades away.
Do yourself a favour. Get this album. Get your best bud to listen to it with you. Then get planning your trip to Memramcook – our new Graceland.