Which Way Am I?

Tough Ages infatuation with classic New Zealand indie pop was so strong on their 2017 album Shame that bassist Penny Clark supposedly began joking about guitarist and founder Jarrett Samsons ambition that they sign a deal with the celebrated Kiwi label Flying Nun. On 2020s Which Way Am I?, it sounds like Samsons new dream is to go back in time and cut a single for Ork Records. Ork was a New York City-based label that in the late 70s and early 80s documented the citys nascent new wave scene, and though Tough Age havent fully abandoned their New Zealand alliances, the artfully tough and wiry sound of this guitar-powered music suggests the band have been spending plenty of time listening to the Feelies and Television, two acts Ork introduced to the world. Like the Feelies, plenty of the songs on Which Way Am I? use rhythm guitar as their key medium for carrying melodies while pumping the performances full of energy, and Television informs the more exploratory melodic frameworks on the album. (Theres also a bit of Sonic Youths languid side in Mathers Ave., which imagines a whole song built from the intro to Daydream Nation.) This might suggest that Tough Age wish they were living in the past or that theyre too derivative for their own good, but thats not how Which Way Am I? sounds. Samson, Clark, and drummer Jesse Locke play this music with a tight, muscular attack that avoids becoming heavy-handed, and respects the melodies without sapping the tunes of the punky rush of the aggressive tempos. If Tough Age clearly have their influences, they share one key perspective with them -- they love the sound of the electric guitar, and they dig deep into its possibilities while avoiding pretentious navel-gazing soloing, with the simple yet daunting patterns of Patience of Mind as a highlight. Its tempting to guess what Tough Ages next obsession will be, but history shows they tend to be fascinated by great stuff, and Which Way Am I? shows they can take ideas pioneered by others and turn them into something thats fresh and individual. ~ Mark Deming