"In Formation" is one of those soft sanguine songs that grabs the listener and leaves them hooked on it like a drug. It's the type of song that ends up breaking charts for a band and getting played 20+ times a day. I've seen often a great song becoming a definition, but Tommy Santee's music lives in much deeper places and demands a look at the overall picture. The Depth of sound is refreshing and unique, eerie with a dirty undercurrent of western influence juxtaposed with violent beauty in the lyricism. Furthermore, Tommy just has a haunting voice that seems completely honest, not to mention the well executed harmonies. I find myself bouncing back and forth between "Rakes" and "Gloria" Trying to figure out which I like more.
"Rakes", Tommy's eighth record, is being distributed by Imaginary Music, a label started by The Cure's Lol Tolhurst, and has a tightly polished sound and immaculate instrumentation as well as host of great songs. "Gloria" comes from a more raw place with dirty prominent melodic lines and a home grown character that might make it seems less perfect than "Rakes", but things like the children singing harmonies on the last track("Lame Dude") prove that the depth and the grit has always been a perfect part of the picture. They may, in fact, be the greatest of saviors to the blooming Los Angeles folk scene.
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