Wolfie
Tall Dark Hill
March
Gone are the days of Wolfie the wolfie, a simple band with a simple sound of lo-fi guitar and an endearing-but-ridiculous keyboard. With Tall Dark Hill, the group has finally emerged as Wolfie the wolf, ready to sink its teeth into rock n’ roll but noticeably mindful not to disregard its quirky youth. This is the five-year high school reunion reappearance of that she-might-be-cute-but-there’s-something-awkwardly-weird-about-her girl, who’s now turning a thousand eager and regretful heads with a tight shirt and uncharted charm. With a bounce in her step as sugary as these new head-bopping Wolfie tunes, there’s something to be said for the beauty of rediscovery.
Tall Dark Hill has taken those cheesy keyboard riffs of old and turned them into cutesy piano segments, infectious harmonies, nifty guitar hooks, and well, revised and delightfully cheesy keyboard riffs. The band’s duet of male and female vocals is what makes these songs what they are, trading off between a charmingly geeky nasal boyish serenade and a Sarge-like confidant girly accompaniment. The female vocals are sometimes indecipherable, but the vocal tunes are so catchy that there’s no shame in ignorantly humming along. In fact, with a unique brand of poppy geek-rock like Wolfie’s, joining the music’s innate happiness is virtually impossible. With frolicking pop melodies that never go too far off the bouncy scale, Wolfie is the perfect combination of an indie-rock band’s youth and maturity. Really, more than anything, they’re Wolfie the wolfie-wolf.
March Records, 51 Main St., Hastings On Hudson, NY 10706; http://www.marchrecords.com
