Tuesday 8/25: Tough Age—"Repose"
Today, we share our thoughts on a recent song by the Toronto post-punk band Tough Age.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a recent song by the Toronto post-punk band Tough Age.
Tough Age—“Repose”
Eric Bennett:
Mint Records signees Tough Age make me think back to last year, when another act on that label impressed me through referencing a specific sound within punk. Last year Mint put out an LP by a band called Necking, which was a gripping and wry take on riot grrrl. The influence of Dig Me Out was palpable. Much in the same way, Tough Age calls to mind the 2010s burst of hypnotic, looping post-punk. Bands like No Age or No Joy created walls of mesmerizing riffs, and Tough Age’s “Repose” plays with this method. The vocals end with minutes left in the track, letting the guitar really draw you further in. It’s excellent, and I’m so excited to explore this record.
Eli Enis:
Tough Age’s new record Which Way Am I? is in no way confined to the loose genre of post-punk. There’s power-pop, bubblegum punk, and some serious Feelies inspiration on there, too, but my personal favorite is the song “Repose”. The first half of the song swerves its way through a hook that’s at once propulsive and pretty, and then it just rides out a taut groove for the last couple minutes. Normally I’d look for some sort of payoff or crescendo after an instrumental part like this that sounds like a bridge. However, in this case [strap in for a cliche], it’s really more about the journey than the destination [groan]. But seriously, that motorik rhythm gets me bopping every time, this track is so much fun and the whole record is a hoot.