Push Puppets – Tethered Together
Push Puppets’ Tethered Together is a musically vibrant album that combines classic rock ideas with fresh indie style. It’s a record that doesn’t run away from highly personal subjects like fragility, connection, loss, but it does it with a vibe and elegance that feels really encouraging. Musically, the album is built on soft rock and melodic pop-rock origins, but it also features innovative sounds and genre explorations. Piano, strings, and minor jazz and reggae influences enhance the arrangements, giving personality and rhythmic variety. Tracks like “Probably” stand out for their groovy piano and interesting basslines, while “Shake It Like You Mean It” provides a jazzy groove that leads to indie guitar lines with style. The melodic guitar work on “Launching a Satellite” recalls the sounds of The Cure, showing the band’s different repertoire. Push Puppets’ fulfillment resides in their capacities to compose songs that are warm. “Hearts Aren’t Souvenirs” and “The Logical Conclusion” have a conventional radio-friendly sound, with catchy choruses and lyrical thinking. Meanwhile, “All Together on 3” develops from a string-laden start to a grooving song, expressing one of the album’s continuing themes: strength in community. The album’s vocals and lyrics achieve a balance between seriousness and humor. Songs like “Tell Colleen to Calm Down” add humor and character to the combination, while ballads like “Hearts Are Fragile” combine light, almost reggae beats with fascinating lyrics on emotional risk and reward. Tethered Together is a mature but playful unit with plenty of detail and good songwriting. Fans of carefully designed rock-pop with meaningful lyrics and creative arrangements will find lots to like here.
Photo Credit: Push Puppets photo by Gabi Bucataru
https://pushpuppets.bandcamp.com
