The new album by Fitz & The Tantrums, entitled More Than Just A Dream, is causing considerable consternation among thousands of devoted fans of their previous work, the highly-charged neo-soul, R & B tinged recording from 2010, Pickin’ Up The Pieces. Where’s the sax, they’re asking, and where’s the soul, and how could they have the nerve to issue such a commercial-sounding recording? Well, we were big fans of Pickin’ Up The Pieces, going so far as to name it one of our favourite recordings of 2010, so the early comments from fans were disconcerting. If true, how dare they sell out, and how dare they devolve (or progress) so quickly? It just goes to show that change is hardly ever welcomed, especially in those we love.
If you caught The Tantrums’ music at all in the past couple of years, you probably also noticed a remarkable, symbolic and memorable image of the group: the melding of black and white genres of pop and soul in the intertwining montage of Michael Fitzpatrick and singing partner Noelle Scaggs. Then there was the motion, emotion and commotion behind their aesthetic decision to base their music on the wonderful sound of church organ and saxophone, eschewing guitars altogether. It was exciting, a union of past and present, exemplified by “Breaking The Chains Of Love” and “Heartbreaker”. A few thousand critics mentioned Fitz and his group as the new Hall and Oates.
“I did want to try and make a big sounding record without guitars,” he said. “For me, I just feel like in any music that has a band, the guitar is always there, it’s always featured, it’s always prevalent. I’m just sick of hearing it.” – Michael Fitzpatrick, 2010
So, what happened with this new album? Well, a few weeks into listening to More Than Just A Dream has us convinced of two things: the previous album was a masterwork, and this new one, while decidedly different, is nearly its equal, but calls for wide-open minds and ears to appreciate how valuable this new material will be to the group’s catalogue. Soul fans who listen only to soul music will hate it. But real music fans will realize that Fitz can’t be confined to one genre, and neither can his Tantrums, particularly the truly wonderful Noelle Scaggs, who is a great singer on her own, but also is the perfect match for Fitzpatrick in duets, call and response, and back-up vocals.
The new songs hardly contradict the previous, but they do complement earlier work in both style and execution. Frankly, another neo-soul recording would have been superfluous, and Fitzpatrick and his writing partner, James King, who also plays sax, are to be commended for their bravery in bringing something altogether unexpected to the group: another great-sounding album, without guitars, that doesn’t echo or copy Pickin’ Up The Pieces.
Key tracks: the current single, and lead-off track for the album “Out Of My League”, with the bass-heavy, multi-tracked Fitz vocal bringing to mind the poppier side of Daryl Hall (and wth was ever wrong with that??) Oh, and the closer on the record is a Tepr remix that commands repeated listening of both versions, which is quite a feat.
Another standout is “6 am”, an instant soul classic with a very satisfying electro-bass bottom, and a delicious verse or two from Noelle: this one puts the lie to any thought that the group has forsaken its soul leanings.
“House on Fire” displays some very creative drumming from band member John Wicks, a melody that is highly reminiscent of any number of songs from Adele, but Fitz simply kills this number, and Noelle’s background singing is outstanding. This one is far more complex in structure and approach than any of their previous work, and marks a significant advance in the group’s compositional abilities.
“MerryGoRound” shows Fitz hasn’t given up on his keyboard work: it’s a ’60s-type masterpiece of stop and start, build, diminish, and build again songcraft that would make have made Phil Spector proud.
