Saturday 19 January 2008

Murders Not Presspackers



Something of a hidden gem, Tom Rosenthal is a prolific and charming song writer. I've been a fan ever since I accepted his friend request on myspace around 6 months ago and he keeps getting better and better.

With no releases to speak of, this Londoner studying in Durham has a ridiculously large catalogue of well written, imaginative and hopelessly sour songs performed exclusively on the piano.

His music reflects a great and often bitter sense of humour. With song titles such as "Lizo From Newsround", "Tesco Is Evil" and "Jeremy Kyle", it's apparent that he isn't one to keep his opinions to himself.

However, the reason I pressed "accept" rather than "deny" was the first song that I heard, the wonderfully enchanting "The Giant Bicycle". Here, Tom takes us on a journey deep into his mind, with such delights as a young giraffe standing on the top of Prince Philip's head, Max from Neighbours -"you know, the one that went a bit mental", and an advert for Specsavers.

Other highlights of his include a haunting and at points, awkward rendition of Cyndi Lauper classic "Girls Just Want To Have Fun", and a scathing attack on the relevance of Jamie T and other contemporary musicians in "Touch My Bum".

With an unorthodox and at times, just plain odd vocal style and approach to song writing, his songs are a refreshing alternative to the sort of Adele/Duffy/Nash drivel that's so popular at the moment.

Myspace
Tom Rosenthal - The Giant Bicycle
Tom Rosenthal - Touch My Bum
Tom Rosenthal - Lizo From Newsround

Carl

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