TUNS
Duly Noted
Murderecords [2021]
There is nothing better than a killer power pop record and TUNS sophomore album, Duly Noted, may just be one of the best ones you might hear this year. If you are already familiar with TUNS this should not be a shocking statement as members Chris Murphy (Sloan), Mike O’Neil (The Inbreds), and Matt Murphy (Super Friendz’s) have a combined resume that not only speaks volumes on their talent but honestly has always set the bar quite high for TUNS.
Duly Noted takes the trio’s decades-long friendship and harnesses all of their synergy into strong songwriting, impeccable song structures and most importantly – perfect catchy Canadian harmonies! For this outing, TUNS divided up the vocal and songwriting duties evenly as they each have four songs. This is always a tricky situation when you are looking for an album to be cohesive but just like Murphy’s Sloan, TUNS pull it off as the album thrives with the different perspectives and finds the tracks gelling from beginning to end.
The enjoyment of listening to Duly Noted is in the effortless delivery TUNS takes to offer it to your ears. The album also has an overall pep to it that just makes each song a foot tapper. It contains plenty of little moments that appear which take tracks to the next level and are a credit to the members veteran status. The distinctive and memorable guitar riff that runs through “We Stand United” has a Vampire Weekend vibe to it as it also has some fantastic quick paced lead vocal sections that increases the songs intelligence level. The mid song tempo switch on “I’ll Only Love You More” is absolutely brilliant when it moves from a swayer to a jammer. You basically get two songs in one! “My Memories” of course uses the trio’s combined layered harmonies to sink it into your head while the opening track, “In The Middle Of The Way Home” could easily be transformed into an arena rocker.
TUNS make Duly Noted a fun experience for everyone that clicks play. The album supplies the perfect windows down type of music that never ages and keeps us all young. I liked their debut but TUNS have surpassed its accomplishments here as Duly Noted showcases the talents of all three individual musicians involved but truly offers up one united long player!
Key Tracks: “In The Middle Of The Way Home” / “My Memories” / “I’ll Only Love You More”
Artists With Similar Fire: Sloan / Matthew Sweet / The Byrds
TUNS Review History: TUNS (2016)
-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony
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