To readers not from Boston/the tundra, imagine (and to readers from Boston/the tundra, take note): you’re waiting outside for the green line to take you home, it’s single digit weather, and you’re actually wondering if tonight will finally be the night that frostbite will claim your body and soul. Suddenly, you’re warming up from your earbuds inwards, and a long-forgotten feeling of springtime hope washes over you, because you’re listening to halfsour’s new offering, Tuesday Night Live.
These Massachusetts mainstays have delivered the jams yet again with their own brand of generally short, jangly confections with just enough drive to retain a little acidity, like lemonheads, or the ex you’re still on relatively good terms with. Tuesday Night Live is thirteen bursts of the much-needed energy we’ve come to expect from halfsour for years, but which we’ve been waiting for since their last split record with Reports on Jigsaw Records back in 2014. Now with Nebraskan Coast, Tuesday Night Live warmly bursts with lyrics that render both an empathetic nod and dancing feet as it spans the spectrum from sunny to bratty, jaded to elated. Standout track and single, “Sensitive Rugby,” is a clever, invigorating look at a snapshotted moment of youth. No strangers to the fine art of crafting hooks and hummable melodies, songs like “Pop Art Pop Tart” will have you absentmindedly singing along until your roommate/family/significant other/living accomplice ready to murder you (just kidding; they’ll like it, too).
Even as the fourth release from halfsour, Tuesday Night Live still maintains freshness, novelty, and promise that whatever they’re up to next is going to be good. There is cause to get hyped: They’ve got the shows coming up locally (like a super hip lineup at Out of the Blue in March with Echo Courts, Harmoos, and Sports Coach), but they’ll be popping up in the near future around the Northeast it seems, so keep them eyes peeled. And cheer up folks; allow yourself some tunage that’ll get you ready to wear shorts, or at least ready for some keen weekend plans.
