Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Fitz and The Tantrums, Elektra/Atlantic records 2019.
This is the second release from Fitz & The Tantrums following their critically acclaimed 2016 self-titled debut which included the worldwide smash hit Handclap that has clocked up more than 400 million streams to date.
That song, and its accompanying video, has amassed more than 80 million YouTube views and reached top five in the multi-format US radio charts.
The first song from this current album, 123456, was released earlier this year and it’s already featured in the recent Netflix film Otherhood.
Other tracks that have gained airtime are I Need Help and the title track All The Feels.
Fitz & The Tantrums produce classic pop oriented tunes that draw from the wide variety of styles that make up this genre.
The title track is one of the most interesting on the album employing the ambient textures created by the synth backing to good effect.
The album is extremely generous in length at 17 tracks and at the time of writing I still haven’t worked my way through all of them but the one thing that stands out is the variety that exists on the disc.
There’s everything from dance to pop ballads and all the permutations between.
It’s light weight stuff but it’s also well done.
The band are creating waves on the American charts with the latest single, I Just Wanna Shine rapidly climbing the Alternative Music charts and gaining high rotation plays on US Alternative Radio.
The track has also been featured on Walmart’s official “Back To School” campaign on both TV and online which gives some indication of the catchiness of the tune.
Indeed, when you consider that their music has been picked up by both the film industry and retail markets then it’s obvious that they are hitting the right notes for commercial as well as creative success.
