The Tom Fun Orchestra – You Will Land With A Thud

The Tom Fun Orchestra is a nine piece ensemble from Cape Breton that form an eclectic merger of sounds and styles that, as their bio so rightly puts it, “bridges generation gaps and defies musical cliches.” It’s really quite a sound to hear, and one I won’t soon forget. Take a look at the lists of instruments and you’ll be hard pressed to forget it too: two electric guitars, two acoustic guitars, fiddle, cello, whistling, radio, upright bass, electric bass, piano, accordion, slophammer banjo, drums, trumpet, flugelhorn, mandolin, harmonica and, counting the four guests on the record, a total of thirteen different vocalists.

So yes, it’s a massive band; but that doesn’t always transfer well to the music. Luckily, The Tom Fun Orchestra are able to use their mass amount of instruments and members to their advantage to create a sound that defies categorization. One way to look at it simply would be to say that it’s a traditional album at heart in the same way that The Pogues or The Clash are traditional: there’s some folk/traditional influences in it but manipulated enough to create a sound that is truly their own.

At times, like on When You Were Mine and Watchmaker, they tip their heads to Tom Waits or Nice Cave while the phenomenal Throw Me To The Rats sounds more akin to a faster/more energetic/more grandiose Tim Barry. Marshall Applewhite and Last Of The Curious Thieves‘ massive sound and perfect mixture between male and female vocals reminds me of Bruce Springsteen‘s Live In Dublin record. Highway Siren Song Breakdown is a straight rock and roll track and the chaotic Tar Pong Tango lifts a page or two from Gogol Bordello‘s notebook. It all works together in a random, chaotic and natural fashion. The songs feel familiar and comfortable yet new and exciting as well.

Still, the true genius behind The Tom Fun Orchestra is the lyrical genius as lead singer Ian MacDougall effortlessly depicts classic tales of outlaws and wild abandonment. They look as if they’re taken from folklore that was passed down from generation to generation. Think of The Ballad Of Jesse James and how it canonize the man and you could picture the way MacDougall bends his words too.

You Will Land With A Thud has been on repeat for the past few days and it will definitely garner many more plays in the coming months because it’s an unorthodox combination of styles and sounds that just screams to be played. It’s like they say in Throw Me To The Rats, “and these are the homemade wings / of muddy-cuddled queens / of back-alley kings/ and the song that no one sings / will reach out hearts/ and burn our dreams” – only this time someone is singing them.