Truth be told, I rarely revisit albums that I’ve reviewed, simply because I’ve usually listened to that record about thirty times in relatively quick succession and I need to move onto the next one. This also means that after a while I forget the details of an album or what I particularly liked about it, which I think is totally fine. However, this has the very nice side-effect of getting a warm and fuzzy feeling whenever I get a new release by a band that I’ve reviewed in the past: a sense of familiarity and of coming home. All this to say that Tardis’ new album, For A While They Lived Together In A Treehouse, gave me exactly that experience, so let’s dive in!
The Francoluxobelgian quartet has taken seven long years since their debut album, Machines Are Talking Behind Your Back, to be back with some new music and while that is definitely quite the wait, it was also more than worth it! (Edit: I am an idiot and completely missed their 2021 release Never Grow up, so it’s “only” been four years, sorry about that!) The fourteen songs are chock-full of character and will make anyone familiar with their music feel right at home. For me, their blend of indie rock somehow manages to push all the right buttons and gives me nostalgic feelings.
For anyone not familiar with their sound, this record is the perfect introduction, because it covers a wide range of their different sounds, from the more straight-forward songs, like the opener, How To Blow Up A Timeline, to their shoegaze-ish ones like Badlands, to finally rockier ballads like Band-Aids And Broken Legs. All three examples sound distinctively different yet are easily recognizeable as Tardis.
Similar to their debut album, this one also deals with socio-political issues and the joys (and perils) of growing older in today’s world, all the while maintaining a certain tongue-in-cheek approach. The one new aspect on FAWTLTIAT is that the bassist’s backing vocals are much more prominent this time around and her voice really adds a very enjoyable additional layer to these fifty-five minutes.
All in all, For A While They Lived Together In A Treehouse manages to surpass its predecessor in every aspect and is a really enjoyable ride through indie-land and I am already looking forward to getting the aforementioned fuzzy feeling again in the (hopefully nearer) future. For more information, you can head to the band’s Facebook page and be sure to check out their newest music video below.