Disenchanted Hearts Unite

You hate to call a record a great leap forward because it might somehow tarnish the bands' back catalog, but Tullycraft's fourth full-length album Disenchanted Hearts Unite is at the very least a big step forward. The record has everything the groups' previous efforts have displayed, like hooks, energy, and sharp often hilarious lyrics, but also has a maturity and richness that the others lacked. Songs like "Secretly Minnesotan," "Fall 4 You" and "Our Days in Kansas" are finely detailed songs with emotional heft and musical power, "Every Little Thing" and "Polaroids From Mars" have a much more muscular sound than the band has ever managed to have, and even the songs like the frantic "Building the Robot" and "Stowaway," that sound like old-school Tullycraft, have a newfound sonic punch. Sean Tollefson's conversational vocals are stronger than ever and his lyrics are peppered with jaw-dropping couplets that touch on all the things indie kids care about like heartbreak, record-store girls, and indie pop. The female vocals are another strong point as Jenny Mears adds lovely harmonies to most of the tunes and Jen Abercrombie of Rizzo drops in to duet with Tollefson on the wonderful "Fall 4 You" and "Building the Robot." A couple of songs fall prey to an overly cute cuteness, namely "Rumble With the Gang Debs" and the "cover" of BMX Bandits' "Kylie's Got a Crush on Us" (here titled "Molly's Got a Crush on Us"), but they have so much energy and spirit that only the most black-hearted meanie would complain. Tullycraft has never been shy about being a twee pop band, and while they still are quite twee, this is the first record that sounds like it was made by grown-ups. Growing up but not growing old is a neat trick to pull off and Tullycraft have just about got it down. Look for Disenchanted Hearts Unite on the top ten lists of indie pop kids and adults at the end of 2005.