review - Tenderhooks EP

I spend a lot of time talking about how the TENDERHOOKS are the best band in Knoxville, and was relieved last fall when they finally finished their debut EP (available from the Local arm of ex-drummer Robbi Koons' New Beat Records), as I now spend less time telling and more time proving. The Tenderhooks play twangy guitar pop, drawing on southern rock, Britpop, and 70s AOR to produce a refined (if not particularly revolutionary) aesthetic showcasing the kinetic, often brilliant songwriting of Jake Winstrom and Ben Oyler. Recorded by Koons a little under a year ago, this self-titled EP highlights the band's greatest assets in Winstrom's delicate, soaring voice (the lovely "Starlight") and Oyler's virtuosic guitar work (particularly in the introduction to "Long Time Sunshine" and on standout "Reconcile These Things") but doesn't entriely hint at how far they've come in the last year due to constant gigging and the continued contributions of bassist Emily Robinson and new drummer Travis Schappel. Still, at least half of the material represented here is among their strongest, and it's certainly an impressive appetizer to the full length they're planning for 2006.

RIYL: The Kinks, The Zombies, Wilco

MP3: "Reconcile These Things" (4:01)