Short Reviews [The Tea Club - 2019 - "If" / "When"]

The Tea Club are a New Jersey-based progressive rock band, fronted by the songwriting team of brothers Patrick and Dan McGowan, who provide vocals and guitars (often in unusual tunings). The line-up is completed by Joe Dorsey (keyboards), Jamie Wolff (bass, violin, cello) and Dan Monda (drums, percussion). Having a quick look at the album page on PA I was surprised to see that all five visible reviews have given this album five *’s, something I don’t think I have ever seen in the fifteen years I have been involved with the site. There is obviously something about this quirky, melodic, harmonic laid-back sound which resonates with people, so it is somewhat surprising they aren’t more well-known. I only came across the album because I was asked by a friend if I had heard of them, yet this is a very polished act indeed. There is a lot going on, with plenty of rhythms and counter rhythms in the background, while the vocals sweetly move into falsetto when the time is right, and there are plenty of lush harmonies. Guitar can often be acoustic, and there is even mandolin to be heard as well and the result is a crossover prog album which also contains plenty of folk as well. The only real issue for me is that the music all follows similar trends, and there just isn’t enough variety for me. I enjoy this style, but in moderation, and I would have preferred more variety within their psychedelic indie pop prog musings. That being said, it is still one heck of an album and why I can’t rave over it to the extreme of others, it is still certainly worth investigating for those who enjoy their prog to be somewhat lighter and less dense.