Tsunami Bomb - The Definitive Act

  by Alex Halls

published: 17 / 10 / 2004

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Formed late 90's in Petaluma, Northern California and discovered by AFI bassist Hunter Bergman, Tsunami Bomb have built on a passion for music and on the successes that have given them Warped Tour appearances in the recentpast. 'The Definitive Act' is the first record to be produced since the band’s popularity exploded, giving them the chance to prove themselves once again and to continue to attract from a wide audience. Often described as fun, creepy, pirate pop punk (due unfortunately to one raucous 7“ release), one immediately recognises in Tsunami Bomb the overtones of a drawn voice and dirty sounding guitars that may have gone some way towards this peculiar portrayal. Having introduced the vague beginnings of metal into their punk music, especially in end track 'Jigsaw'on new album 'The Definitive Act', Tsunami Bomb provide a purposeful album, full of catchy yet roughened tracks that allow the listener to enjoy their music without feeling duped into feeling something that visibly isn’t there. Never having habituated myself with female fronted punk bands; save the Distillers and Tilt, not for any particular reason other than the unpalatable forced vocals, lead singer, Agent ‘M’, yes she does go by that name, of Tsunami Bomb provides a distinctly different sound altogether: moremelodious and a lot sharper. These melodic vocals, along with having signe dto the commercial Kung Fu Records (home to the Ataris, Alkaline Trio and,more markedly, The Vandals) may be why this band has been criticised by the punk community in the past: upon listening to this album one can see how these criticisms could have been formulated but, in my opinion, they are totally unfounded. To state that the lyrics are of depressive nature is a gross understatement;in almost every song there is a hint of past troubles, upcoming inevitability and dilemmas expressed within nightmares, plainly in evidence in the opening phrase of the album’s best track, 'Dawn On A Funeral Day': “Did you ever realise why there are no stars in the sky? Because they‘re on the ground. The air is brown, we‘re trapped in this town“. For the most frail of minds 'The Definitive Act' may come as a shock, but in a world where the alternative scene is dominated by bands such as Marilyn Manson, this record won’t impact much in that way. Despite the tortures articulated on this album, we are spared torture ourselves as, thankfully, there are no tales of teenage love fantasies and rejection: the closest the album gets to this is in 'Epic', ironically the weakest song present. 'The Definitive Act' genuinely marks itself as a modern album,exhibiting nothing exceptional but maintaining an enjoyable level of quality despite the melancholy lyrical content. Arguably Tsunami Bomb include many positive notes in their lyrics but it is with the music that this positivity duly explodes. The album is closer to mainstream music than punk die-hards may be able to forgive the band for, but the essence of punk is retained, credibly throughout. 'The Definitive Act' can be forgiven for trailing off a little at the end for the amount it achieves at the beginning, before 'Jigsaw' rounds off an altogether successful follow up to the first full lengther, 'The Ultimate Escape.'

Track Listing:-

1 Dawn On A Funeral Day
2 Being Alright
3 5150
4 Safety Song
5 I Bought You
6 4 Robots & An Evil Scientist
7 A Lonely Chord
8 Epic
9 Negative One To Ten
10 My Machete
11 Tetanus Shot
12 Jigsaw

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