Download A Free Track From Team Tomb's Debut Full-Length.
In Chunk of Change-era interviews, Passion Pit lead singer Michael Angelakos was often quick to admit that his now-trademark shrill falsetto vocal stylings came about as an effort to cut through the busy layering of synths that occupied the sonic range his natural voice normally would have resided in.
Over the years, though, that's handcuffed the band's sound a bit. Angelakos' signature falsetto has become a typecast asset of the band's sound, and has somewhat stifled the band's live show as Angelakos struggles to hit the same clear highs he does on record.
Interestingly, despite their similar reliance on densely layered falsettos on their own debut full-length, neither of these handicaps seems to be an issue for North Texas' own Team Tomb.
In fact, the only setbacks thus far for this Denton upstart have mostly been related to a preemptive name change.
The band formerly known as Coves dropped the name after learning of a British band of the same name that had already released a vinyl of their own.
That, plus the fact that the Denton band thus far hasn't managed to play enough shows or scrape together enough cash to come up with a physical release of their own.
As hinted by the handful of tracks that had been floating around online, the stamp of Caleb Ian Campbell (formerly of the Polycorns) remains heavily imprinted on the self-titled full-length. Elegant guitar licks carry the tracks, which ride the delicate wave of being poppy-yet-subdued.
Meanwhile, the keyboard lines — carried out live by Pageantry's Roy Robertson — are simple but deliberate. And the piercing, reverb-drenched harmonies of Bosque Brown's Jeremy Buller find themselves located perfectly in the mix, coming off richly penetrating but never distracting or, worse, grating.
Though they've managed only a few live performances, the band sounded remarkably faithful to the just-released album in the times we've seen them.
Well-executed, impeccably-placed tempo shifts and rhythmic breaks keep the somewhat low-key album interesting in either setting, reminding us of the composition, execution and rich influence of the Ivy League-based indie bands that were so prevalent in the mid-'00s.
To their credit, though, Team Tomb manages to carry these signatures out with far more restraint.
Grab the track “Skin and Teeth,” which the band has been kind enough to pass along to Central Track readers as a free download, below.
Team Tomb photo by Ally Jayne Hoffman.