Teen rebellion was commodified long ago, and much of the music now geared toward it is either whiny emo or sugar-coated pop punk. Occasionally, though, a band outside the Big Label Bland Suburban Angst world comes crashing in with a little raw abandon and exuberance that can actually plug you back into that old sense of thrilling freedom.
That’s what Tilly & the Wall does, for me anyhow. They were recruited in Omaha by Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame and their Wild Like Children was the first release on his label, Team Love. Like most of the bands in that Omaha scene, they radiate a sense of fierce DIY independence, authenticity, and whimsy. How punk are they? They have a tap dancer instead of a drummer.
Their third album, O, is an assertive leap forward — tougher, catchier, more varied. Hard to pick a song from it. This one, “Dust Me Off,” is probably the poppiest.
As a bonus, here’s a few videos, the (goofy) one for “Alligator Skin” and one from a 7″ called “Beat Control”:
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