Tilts
Tilts
Robotic Empire

Tilts’ self-titled debut full-length is one of those pledge jobs — you know, where a band raises a certain amount of money directly from fans and uses that money to make an album. The amount of money a person pledges determines the package they receive, be it a digital download, a record, a record and a t-shirt, etc., and only those people who pledge get the tunes. It’s the print-on-demand model applied to music (a model also recently successfully employed by Ginger Wildheart for his triple album project), and it is thanks to about 117 backers that this here attack of supercharged indie power pop is gonna meet an invested audience. Tilts is a remixed and remastered collection of the St. Louis band’s first three EPs (Cassingle, Sidepipin’, Contractors to Her Majesty’s Forces) and sizzles like a schoolgirl on an electric fence, and if there were such a thing as dance halls anymore, this album would sweep ‘em in a big way. Tilts (who feature Torche’s newest member Andrew Elstner in their ranks) are simply addictive, and do all sorts of dirty, wonderful things with this album by turning it into a sonic smorgasbord; you’ll taste all kinds of rock here, like Southern (“Mexiqo”), garage (“It Helps”), alt (“Whatever Happened”), fuzz (“Palm Reader”), desert (“Sidepipin’”), and even a nod to Van Halen (“Hot for Pizza”). Hell, wait until you hear the heavy they lay down on “Contractors to Her Majesty’s Forces” and “Strongbow”. Simply put, Tilts is overloaded with catchy, hip shock n’ roll that’s been put on a pedestal made of gumdrops and nails. Everything great in a spin, really, and record store geeks and smarmy critics are gonna go ga-ga for this. Assuming they pledged, that is.

Listen to “Mexiqo” from Tilts!