Telling Tales (2010)
Tin Soldiers debut album was released May 2010.
Recorded in Parlour Studios, Kettering, Fortress Studios, London and Mastered in Sawmills, Fowey.
Mixed and Produced by – Greg Brimson
Engineered by – Russ Russell
Mastered by – John Cornfield
Featuring the singles 24 Hours, Just What I Needed and Word’s Got Out.
Track listing – 1. 24 Hours 2. Five By Five 3. Wait For You 4. Word’s Got Out 5. Just About Us 6. Just What I Needed 7. Telling Tales 8. Static 9. The Nothing Song 10. Pull The Trigger 11. Day By Day
‘the pop record that the Foo Fighters never wrote. From start to finish, every minute of ‘Telling Tales’ will wedge itself inside your head. Catchy doesn’t even come close’ 8/10 ROCKSOUND
‘Based on the evidence here, Tin Soldiers are destined for big things. This is fast, energetic, frenetic, frantic, nigh perfect pop-rock.Really, this album cannot be recommended highly enough; perfectly paced, brilliantly produced, artful musicianship, lively guitar solos, loud, bouncy, jump around brilliance.’ 5/5 RED HOT VELVET
‘a relentless gusto and verve nailed to a punchy radio-seeking production…an anxious Feeder with sharper teeth…Standout tracks Just About Us, Wait For You and 24 Hours demonstrate some keen songwriting skills ‘ 7/10 CLASSIC ROCK
‘Chugging guitars, explosive time changes, like Muse playing proper pop songs with Dave Grohl at the volume control. As you can imagine melodies are rife, guitars spin off and drums are given a good kicking, indeed frenetic dancing and weird shapes are often thrown as a result’ Q MAGAZINE
‘If you want catchy then it’s time to make the acquaintance of Tin Soldiers who rival the Ebola virus in terms of sheer infectiousness’ KERRANG
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FULL REVIEWS
ROCKSOUND / Tin Soldiers – Telling Tales
We can only assume that when making this record, Kent four-piece Tin Soldiers donned white coats, locked themselves in some sort of mad scientist audio-laboratory, and set out to fuse Feeder, Green Day and Ash together – thus creating the catchiest album known to man… When they emerged and dropped the finished disk into the nearest player, it turned out that through their experiments in pop-rock fusion, they had in fact written the pop record that the Foo Fighters never wrote. From start to finish, every minute of ‘Telling Tales’ will wedge itself inside your head. Catchy doesn’t even come close. 8/10
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CLASSIC ROCK / Telling Tales
Pop-rock debutants on manoeuvres
Situated proudly on the indie pop-rock spectrum (somewhere in the hinterland where angular guitar chops collide with Grant Nicholas’s epic choruses) the obvious reference point for Kent’s Tin Soldiers is an anxious Feeder with sharper teeth.
Standout tracks Just About Us, Wait For You and 24 Hours demonstrate some keen songwriting skills and in Grohl-like drummer Chris Persiva they have a trump card elevating the whole several considerable notches. At times, hints and snippets of Lostprophets, Franz Ferdinand, Def Leppard and the ubiquitous Foo Fighters blur the fine line between homage and light-fingeredness, but a relentless gusto and verve nailed to a punchy radio-seeking production brushes too much cynicism aside. Anyway you look at it, it’s a strong start.
7/10 Tim Batcup
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Tin Soldiers / Telling Tales / Genre: Rock
British rock four piece Tin Soldiers impress massively with Telling Tales, easily the best release this reviewer has heard in quite some time. If pop rock a la Feeder is your thing, you will love this album. The disc boasts two superb singles in Word’s Got Out and Just What I Needed, and all songs boast professional production thanks to John Cornfield (Muse, Feeder) and Greg Brimson (Metallica, Bush). Tin Soldiers’ song writing is impressive to say the least, delivering hook lines and rocking moments right across the whole CD. Starting with their single, 24 Hours, and finishing up with the more chilled out Day By Day, the band keeps up the energy all the way through. If you don’t go away from hearing this CD without having at least one tune burnt into your memory, you probably had the mute switch on. Watch out for this band! C Tate. Power Play June 2010
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GUITARIST MAGAZINE Tin Soldiers / Telling Tales / 7/10
Power-pop is an oft-neglected art due to the genre’s preference for bandwagon chasing, but British act Tin Soldiers revive it on their debut – the hooks are relentless and the guitars hammer them under your skin. Fans of Feeder and Ash would do well to give this outfit a try.
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RED HOT VELVET / Tin Soldiers / Telling Tales 5/5
WHAT’S THE STORY?: Based on the evidence here, Tin Soldiers are destined for big things. This is fast, energetic, frenetic, frantic, nigh perfect pop-rock. Opening track ’24 Hours’ is the first single to be taken from the album, and what a choice – a thumping verse blows into a tighter-than-a-duck’s-behind chorus, with furious energy and gorgeous anthemic lyrics. ‘Five By Five’, the second track, is great fun, fast and loud with another king-hell blasting chorus. The instrumental track ‘Static’ (truly, the band’s darker side revealed) is searing, with brilliant drum work throughout. I could go through the album track by track and write an heartfelt dedication to each, but that’d sap the fun out of listening to it for you! Really, this album cannot be recommended highly enough; perfectly paced, brilliantly produced, artful musicianship, lively guitar solos, loud, bouncy, jump around brilliance.
SOUNDS LIKE: Oh, where to begin… GreenDay, Foo Fighters, Crowded House, Lost Prophets, any band from the last 15 years with crunching guitars, really. But don’t worry about that – Tin Soldiers, although comfortable with their peers, constantly surprise and really make the best of obvious influences, creating something wonderfully fun.
YOU’LL LIKE THIS IF YOU LIKE: all or any of the above. Joyous.
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All gigs / Tin Soldiers / Telling Tales Review
This might be just the ticket in thumping, riffy power-punk, built around don’t-fight-it-you’ll-only-lose melodic, sing-along, song-centric, hit-you-between-the-eyes rock ‘n’ roll.
Precisely forty seconds in to ‘Five By Five’, you’re picking up your mobile to tell the world about its mighty fine rock chorus and its hectic, frantic Matt Wade guitar. The driving beat of ’24 Hours’ sees fashionable commercial sparkle created from something that’s recognisably from a classic bygone era, and ‘Wait For You’ is an accessible muscular pop.
Tin Soldiers cleverly don’t hide their timeless influences that range from 70s late-nite FM lighters-in-the-air, intimate for-your-ears-only, one-on-one vocals, to Skip Alan 100 Club heart-attack, powerhouse drumming from Chris Persiva that grabs you firmly by the cojones. Styles vary but are constantly catchy – ‘Static’ is a powerful noise sculpture; title track ‘Telling Tales’ irrepressibly bounces off all the walls before melody and riff win the day yet again, and best of all is ‘Day By Day’, a beautiful, light construction with Rich Crossingham’s drop-dead gorgeous mesmerising vocal that I’m sure Andrew Montgomery and Jim Diamond will love as much as I do. This is a damned fine album. Peter Innes
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“Each track really is a finely-constructed piece of work. There doesn’t seem to be any filler and while its clear the band are influenced by modern rock sounds the band manage to create their own sound. Utilising tuneful and strong backing vocals provides a real clout to the overall vocal sound. The lead vocals suit the rock sound very well and provide a credibility with the heavier tracks as well as the more emotional moments.
The band play around with the rock genre, so you get a good helping of punchy beats, along with softer tracks and ballad moments. Musically the band don’t settle for one beat, one strum pattern, one way of singing. There is so much variety thrown in that you only really get the full value from the disc with a second, third or fourth listen. Lyrically the album is strong too. The most impressive thing is the catchy nature of the majority of the choruses. It’s like the album was built for big live performances where the crowd would be able to catch onto the tracks really quickly.
For a general album the disc is pretty impressive. For a first album it’s mind-blowing. To read the rest of the review please go to http://www.bse-live.co.uk/Latest_Issue/index.html
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SHAKENSTIR MAGAZINE – Tin Soldiers / Telling Tales 4/5
Tin Soldiers is a young British guitar band from Kent, and is made up of Rich Crossingham on vocals and guitar, Matt Wade on guitar and vocals, Chris Persiva on drums and vocals, and Matt Jennings on bass. The band’s influences centre on the more melodic and accessible rockers like Muse, Queen, Skunk Anansie, Feeder, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, Incubus, The Who, Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Led Zepellin, The Police, and Green Day.
TELLING TALES represents the band’s debut proper into the music market following on from extensive touring since the band formed in 2007. It’s a mad, bad music world right so the guys have to deliver a killer-blow album that should secure some airplay to give them a flying start out of the blocks. So, does the album deliver?
I believe it does, and on several fronts. ‘24 Hours’ is a rampant, epic rocker that exudes youth, enthusiasm and enough hooks to fill an ocean. In addition, there’s a signature sound that is succesful in providing the band with a distinctive edge in the marketplace. Great start! ‘Five To Five’ is marginally more downbeat but the guitar onslaught continues along with bellowing backing vocals, and a message that’s relevant to the band’s target audience. ‘Wait For You’ is a darker, contemplative pop-rocker with characteristic huge choruses and some interesting guitar riffs. Crossingham’s vocals are excellent as he manages to outrun the barrage of guitars and drums, and expressive with it. ‘Words Got Out’ is a great example of this when he whispers one moment and belts the next in a song that is dominated by bass and lead guitar riffs of very quality.
So far, so good. ‘Just About Us’ is a slower, quieter, reflective song that I can envisage as a single release, and a prime candidate for a live performance audience singalong. The message cries youth with lyrics that are meaningful and moving. Pulsating guitars introduce ‘Just What I Needed’ and I’m hearing Foo Fighters and Green Day influences quite strongly, in a song driven by a solid melody and another strident performance by the boys. ‘Telling Tales’ is a more complex song with clever changes of pace while instrumental interlude ‘Static’ is the darkest song here. ‘The Nothing Song’ is an prime example of the band’s quality song-writing and ability to inject interest with extended and pretty wonderful instrumental passages. ‘Pull The Trigger’ is another potential radio-friendly single charter, while final song ‘Day By Day’ is a stripped-down beauty with keyboards coming into view along with Crossingham’s most expressive vocal on the record as his voice travels the octave scale with apparent ease. Check out the wonderful extended guitar riff towards the end of the song – brilliant!
This is a very strong debut album aimed squarely at the younger market, and given airplay it should fly off retail shelves and merch tables. If the band can pull this off live I see no barrier to it bulding up a strong fan base and maturing with each subsequent release. Strongly recommended.
SINGLE REVIEWS
Tin Soldiers – 24 Hours (On the Run)
I was really gearing up for not liking this but I’m now totally won over. The only time that Tin Soldiers are even slightly hesitant is at the very beginning, almost like they are just warming up for the 3 minutes of riffery and breathless delivery to come. An admirably accurate press release likens ’24 hours’ to a Foo Fighters’ ‘Monkey Wrench’, though arguably Tin Soldiers demonstrate even more urgency and a feeling of spiralling out of control than their more famous Foo cousins. Excellent stuff. 8/10
Is This Music / Tin Soldiers /24 Hours (single)
Tub thumping punk pop that appeals to the bolshy, semi-politicised fifteen-year-old in all of us, Tin Soldiers’ electric single that makes you want to stick a safety pin through your nose and kick over a bus stop. ’24 Hours’ is a slice of pithy punk without an ounce of flab; and like losing your virginity it’s a pleasurably sticky mess that’s unfortunately over far too quickly. Tin Soldiers won’t change your world, but they might just rock it for 3 whole minutes.
God Is In The TV / Tin Soldiers – Word’s Got Out (On The Run Recordings)
Four-piece outfit from Kent who, here at least, kick up a mighty post-grunge racket that is highly listenable and shows promise of a band with a lot to offer. It’s a punchy number with a wonderfully commercial hook and is driven along at a pounding rate by the rhythm section. The band cite Foo Fighters as a major influence and there is a clear debt to them on this, with an anthemic chorus that sticks inside your head like putty. It’s maybe over commercial in some respects, with guitar riffs that might have emanated from Ash, but it is a single after all!
There’s bags of energy on this, the first single from the upcoming album, which will also include remixes of last year’s singles 24 Hours and Wait For You. The set’s being produced by Greg Brimson who has twiddled the knobs for both Muse and Feeder, so if he can help Tin Soldiers capture some of the best bits of the aforementioned past masters then it promises to kick start 2010 with a riotous bluster. 4/5
Shout For Music – Tin Soldiers / Just What I Needed
British four-piece Tin Soldiers have been receiving a fair amount of praise since the 2010 release of their debut album ‘Telling Tales’, including being named one of Big Cheese Magazine’s best of 2010 and an official introduction in Kerrang! Magazine. But as the band release their new single ‘Just What I Needed’, you can’t help but feel that things aren’t likely to slow down anytime soon for the quartet. The single is a fantastic slice of pop-rock as it brings to mind bands like Sum 41 and even Foo Fighters, which the band actually cite as one of their influences. Opening with fast-paced, driving guitars, the track can also be described as a great salute to post-grunge as it generally emits an awesome and animated type of energy throughout. Of course, the catchiness of the track doesn’t go unnoticed as the band go for an upbeat, stadium-worthy chorus which is sure to go down a storm at future gigs. Currently working on their second album, ‘Just What I Needed’ works as a good taster to what many will be eagerly anticipating. Be sure to catch the boys as they head off on tour this summer for what will surely be a terrific set of shows.
Get Ready To Rock – Tin Soldiers / Just What I Needed
Ploughing their way through the ranks of the music industry, Tin Soldiers have been proudly introduced to the readers of Kerrang! and are well on their way to the top. Their debut album, “Telling Tales” was released last year and they’re back with brand spanking new single, “Just What I Needed” to be released on the 18th of April.
The track relies on an extremely upbeat base that is added to by pop-rock style vocals. The chorus is unbelievably catchy and although rather basic and nothing particularly new, it gives an overall good impression of the band and clearly demonstrates their ability to conjure up the perfect rock song similar to something The Foo Fighters are capable of.
Tin Soldiers have already built themselves up quite a fanbase but my expectations are that this will continue to grow significantly over the next few years as they easily hijack the music channels and show off their radio-friendly melodies.
****
Unplug The Jukebox – Tin Soldiers / Just What I Needed
http://unplugthejukebox.com/2011/04/tin-soldier-just-what-i-needed/
With British Summertime apparently arriving early, what we now need is the soundtrack to those long days on the beach. Look no further than the latest single from Kent four piece Tin Soldiers.
“Just What I Needed” has a complete summery vibe. The verses recall latter day Manics before a killer chorus that Feeder would be proud of kicks in unceremoniously. Trust me, once it’s in your head it won’t leave in a hurry. This is upbeat, commercial pop-rock at it’s best. You can imagine a video being shot on a sunkissed beach for this.
Songs like “Just What I Needed” are made for blasting out of the stereo whilst driving along with your mates on a gorgeous summers day (much like today!). Listen to this without singing along….go on….I dare you!
TIN SOLDIERS Just What I Needed
Another rip snorting new rock band from north of the border. Hold on, rewind. Since when was Kent north of Hadrian’s Wall? Well it might as well be in the case of the second single from Tin Soldiers, the band’s forthcoming album Telling Tales (produced by Greg Brimson and engineered by Russ Russell (Supergrass / Natalie Imbruliga / The Wildhearts / Bush / Metallica). Opening with a rip snorting riff before bursting into a huge slice of sing along pop rock, it’s all swagger, staccato rhythms and fun. File next to Scottish up and comers Twin Atlantic, and not too far from Biffy Clyro. Review by Pete Whalley
Never Enough Notes – Tin Soldiers / Just What I Needed
http://www.neverenoughnotes.co.uk/wordpress/2011/04/tin-soldiers-just-what-i-needed-180411-on-the-run/
Hmm. I’m getting a very strange sort of déja vu here. And it’s not that I’ve heard this song before, it’s more subtle than that. It’s more like I’m sitting on the school bus in 2002, maybe 2003, and it’s playing on the radio, or something like it anyway, and maybe it’s a bit sunny, and I’m nodding along and probably thinking about girls and homework and how unfair everything is, and…
Sorry. Where was I?
Apparently, the number of girls who scrawled Tin Soldiers across their chests hit triple figures last year. Which, well. You know. Fair play. I didn’t realise that a sort of Feeder / Sum 41 crossbreed-type business was floating everybody’s boats. Maybe my finger isn’t as on the pulse as I thought. Or maybe, dear God, I’m actually getting old. No, surely not.
This review might seem a bit disjointed. It’s largely because I’m very ambivalent about this song. On the one hand, it does sound like the last eight or nine years didn’t happen. It also sounds a lot like Feeder and Sum 41. And it’s pop rock, a genre with which I have a rocky, semi-abusive relationship. But on the other hand, the production is good, with appealingly crunchy fuzz guitar and big drums, and it’s got a nice sort of catchiness to it. And although the singer really does sound loads like Grant Nicholas, I like Grant Nicholas. So you can almost pretend that you’re listening to Feeder, and that it’s not 2011, and everything isn’t disappearing rapidly down the toilet.
On that score, I think I’m going to let Tin Soldiers get away with it. Because they make me think I’m listening to Feeder in 2002. And all the ghastly stuff that’s happened since 2002 hasn’t happened. Obviously all the ghastly stuff that happened before 2002 did happen, but I’m fourteen years old in 2002, and therefore don’t care about anything that’s not me. So it’s fine.