Talk Show Host is a power-pop group from Toronto. And while it’s chock-full of those pleasant, soaring melodies expected of the style, the band establishes its tone early, showing there are some teeth behind the smile with opening track “You Asshole!”
Songs like the lead track, “Crisis Actors” and “Warmest Condolences” defy the idea that pop songs are empty, instead taking names and kicking ass or whatever the cliché says. The band clearly has a pop-forward sound and there’s a big of a shiny gloss in the production to emphasize that. Yet, there is good variety within the 10 songs here. “Blood in the Sand” may be the best pop song I’ve heard in recent years. The whoa-ohs are immediately memorable and it’s one of those songs you can’t get out of your head. And while I say that in a good way, you also don’t want 10 songs that sound that way on a record either. Sometimes it’s smiling pop, but with snarling politically-tinged turns and, at others, a more dramatic approach that I’m beginning to associate with Toronto, as I pick up subtle similarities to bands like PUP and Pkew Pkew Pkew. Overall, it takes heyday Weezer with some Squirtgun mixed in for a doozy of a singalong. I don’t know if it’s before their time or not, but I want to namedrop the Mallrats soundtrack as well.
The band formed in 2015 and, while this is the first long-play record, their experience shows. It’s varied yet consistent with rising tide emotions, politics, and personal appeal. To play this style and not grow stale across a full-length is an accomplishment. It’s a really strong debut that fits different moods. It’s alternately familiar in style yet refreshing and new enough to stand out from the pack and it’s in heavy rotation in my house right now.
