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Teen-Beat 372.

The Fontaine Toups

T.F.T.

When I Wake Up
Who Told You
Spector
Nico
You Should Call
TFT

Sister
Sunshine Brighter
Different Life
Shoegazer
2002

Compact Disc (CD) ($13,33)

6-panel folder
with jewel case.

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DESCRIPTION

The debut album from this Brooklyn, New York-based trio. The band soon after shortened their name to T.F.T.

LINER NOTES

PLAYERS

Andy Cheng, bass guitar, guitar, vocals

John Sullivan, drums

Fontaine Toups, guitar, vocals

GUEST PLAYER

Andrew Malenda, keyboard on 3, 5, 7

PRODUCED BY

Adam Lasus,

and T.F.T.

RECORDED BY

Adam Lasus,

at Fireproof, Brooklyn, New York, USA

MASTERED BY

Joe Lambert,

at Classic Sound, New York, New York, USA

MUSIC COMPOSITION

The Fontaine Toups

except 1 and 2 written with
Joe McGinty

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY

John Sullivan

BAND PHOTOGRAPHY

Stefano Giovannini

COVER DESIGN

Mark Robinson, Teen-Beat Graphica

ET CETERA

The band's leader, Fontaine Toups, is a long-time and founding member of the musical group Versus.

REVIEWS

"Some of you may know Ms. Fontaine Toups as the bassist and sultry vocalist for mid-nineties indie-rock favorites Versus. Matching crunching guitars with anthemic singalong pop choruses, Versus crafted a number of catchy but often inconsistent albums, and that inconsistency may have prevented them from experiencing the underground popularity of their golden-age indie-rock contemporaries. Toups now has her own band, and while their sound is not dissimilar to her former group's grand dynamics, their incessantly twee underpinnings grow frustrating over the course of their debut.

Upbeat opener "When I Wake Up" sets the scene with its crunchy distortion and sing-along "do-do-do-doo"s. It's classic early-'90s indie-rock, making up for its lack of ambition with a resonant melody that lingers in your mind long after the song is over. Ironically, that's also the album's major problem -- so many catchy melodies are expounded in the first few tracks that by the time you're halfway through, you've had your fill. By the time "Nico" comes around with its bouncy guitar lines and finger-clicks, it's hard to give a shit anymore. Even promising noise-drenched excursions like "TFT" and "Sunshine Brighter" are undermined by upbeat melodies that'll make you cover your ears and scream "Please! Enough already! Enough!".

Forget the fact that this was exactly the type of music Bettie Serveert were making back in the early '90s, because that's not important; the album doesn't claim to be sonically adventurous. TFT's maddening excess of too-sweet melodies and upbeat instrumentation is exciting for a while, but it'll eventually rot your teeth."

- Rob Moran, Splendid

RELEASE DATE

April 12, 2004

FORMAT

compact disc

LENGTH

41 minutes, 32 seconds
11 tracks

CATALOGUE No.

Teen-Beat 372

DETAILS

2,083 pressed.
3,300 booklets, tray cards, and stickers printed.

INSERT:
full-colour four-page booklet and tray card in JEWEL CASE with black tray. full-colour on white paper (front side). black ink on white paper (back side).

JEWEL CASE:
with clear tray.

LABEL:
Blue, red, yellow, and white ink.

STICKER:
Red ink on white semi-gloss stock. 1" x 2 1/2".

Printed and pressed by
Bellwether Mfg., Bloomington, Indiana.

DISCOGRAPHY

ALBUMS

T.F.T.

COMPILATIONS

2004 Teenbeat Sampler
Teen-Beat 20th Commemorative

ALSO

Teen-Beat 17th Anniversary Celebrations
Teen-Beat 19th Anniversary Celebrations
Teen-Beat 20th Anniversary Celebrations

RELATED

Containe
Versus

SONGS

Ave. A
Different Life
I Don't Like What You're Saying
Nico
Shoegazer
Sister
Spector
Sunshine Brighter
TFT
2002
When I Wake Up
Who Told You
You Should Call