Tiny Masters of Today

Skeletons

(Mute)

Record Review by Alex Pudlin

Does every generation believe that the kids are destroying society? Part of growing old, I guess. But take one listen to Tiny Masters of Today’s sophomore album Skeletons and you’ll soon realize that even in the ADD-induced age of Twitter, YouTube and MP3s, there’s hope for the kids yet. Growing up in Brooklyn just as gentrification and creativity combined to spawn an artistic renaissance, siblings Ivan and Ada have learned from their surroundings mighty quickly. Skeletons bursts forth with the frenetic energy often associated with hungry young punk bands. Yet at 15 (Ivan) and 13 (Ada), the Tiny Masters have most of their fellow musical peers beat by at least four years. Even scarier still, Ivan and Ada recorded their first tracks in 2005, meaning they are practically seasoned vets by now. But let’s forget age for a minute. Skeletons thumps at your eardrums with a captivating mix of attitude, catchiness and production trickery that would be stellar at any age.

Whereas some of Ada and Ivan’s classmates may dig the new Jonas Brothers, Skeletons sticks to the early days of punk, garage and dub. “Drop the Bomb” sets the mood with a lo-fi amalgam of Beck, White Stripes and Blues Explosion. Rather than rely on some cutesy lyrics, TMT eschew lyrics almost completely on the opener in favor of a raw groove. From there, the album flies by in under 30 minutes, smacking you left and right with distorted vocals, grinding guitars and addictive hooks amidst layers of digital delay that would make Lee Perry proud. “Real Good” takes its cue from '90s brit-pop and '60s girl-groups, frolicking along with melodic finesse.  Meanwhile, “Big Stick” sounds like Fergie’s “Fergalicious” into something with vicious little vampire teeth. Short breakdowns of squeaks and guitar echoes provide an ideal contrast to the song’s grittier main segments. That Ivan and Ada wrote and produced this stark juxtaposition of sounds is all the more impressive. 

Although Ivan and Ada attack this material with typical New York snark, they manage to turn what could come off as cockiness into something endearing. Perhaps it’s the high-pitched voices. While many indie singers strain to make their voices as high and childlike as possible, Ada and Ivan sing like that because their voices haven’t dropped yet. That’s not to suggest that they sound amateur or undeveloped. Quite to the contrary, the harsh nasal tones feel as real and natural as Curtis Mayfield’s falsetto. Lyrically, TMTs have some fun as well. On “Two Dead Soldiers”, they call out Brixton, Kingston and nearly every other city that ends with the “in” sound. Sharp social commentary shines through on “Pop Chart” and “Abercrombie Zombie.” “Pop Chart” even features a Randy “Macho Man” Savage-esque “Ohhhhh yeahhhh” at the end. On “Abercrombie Zombie,” the Tiny Masters shout out quite the scathing indictment, especially for kids who can’t even drive yet. Indeed, as Ada howls about mindless teen consumers who eat up their A&F shirts like brains, you realize that at least in the world of mall culture, nothing much has changed between generations after all.