Thumbs - s/t (1979, Ramona)

Though they're only sharing one track from this album, What Frank is Listening To blog beat me to the clock in profiling this one last year.  Like "Frank," I bought this album on whim as well, but I cannot agree with his his assertion that this Kansas quartet qualified as purveyors of "faux new wave."  They're only about as 'punk' as say, the Tuff Darts, and while said blogger also levels the ol' 'power pop' axiom at the Thumbs, 'pub rock' would be more in the ballpark.  IMO, even for that particular genre, this bunch plays it a little too low-key.  The four Thumbs bleed faint shades of the Velvets, Stones and Television, albeit in a far more restrained and pedestrian context.  Front guy Steve Wilson delivers his lines in an ever-so-slight Dylan-esque drawl, but even with some politely whirring organ to back him up, the Thumbs schtick is anti-climactic.  A little mystique would have down wonders for these boys.  With that criticism out of the way, I still enjoy partaking in this record, despite it falling well short of a revelation.    

01. Sweet & Wild
02. In the Family
03. Is It Asking Too Much?
04. 4th of July
05. Still Bound to You
06. Inch or Two
07. Straight to the Heart
08. Frame of Mind
09. Moonlight
10. Rags to Rags
11. Art History

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