We have had a few good local bands contact us of late about their music and what they are up to. Tough Troubles are one act, however, that I am having difficulties coming to terms with. Not that I don't like them - their album Illnesses is extremely interesting with some great tracks - its just that said album is quite hard to categorise. A self-professed concept album (I can hear the uneasy loosening of ties from here), Illnesses flirts with, then flippantly cold-shoulders, convention at every turn, utilising samples, effects, mechanised beats, reverbed vocals, shoegaze showers, in telling a story about the human condition. Each song details a condition, an illness, the onset of a disease, a hereditary syndrome, a chromosome mutation. This is a dark piece of work, and when squirrelled away in a dark space with your headphones on, the impact of such an album is profound. Therefore you can say that this album is a success - but whether it will stand for repeated listens is another thing entirely. Nevertheless, Tough Troubles are an act to keep serious tabs on. And Im extremely excited to see how they recreate this sound in a living setting...
Tough Troubles' recordings thus far can be found on Geneva Lake Records.
Tough Troubles - Paraplegic
Tough Troubles - Radiation Sickness
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