That Fucking Tank

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

5...according to our Business Lady on Mon 21 Nov, 2011.

That Fucking Tank have always been a reliable source of audio entertainment. Their shows are consistently a pleasure to attend and the three LP's that preceded 'TFT' are some of the finest ROCK rekkids committed to tape in the modern (and depressingly digital) age. After a phenomenal amount of time playing together in one form or another That Fucking Tank's Andy Abbott (Baritone guitar split between bass and guitar amps) and James Islip (Bass Drum, Snare, Hi-Hats and Ride) have chosen to conceptualise 'TFT' as a review of their twenty year musical friendship, showcasing their continued virtuosity whilst giving us a glimpse of the musical influences that have helped shape their musical evolution. Tank have always delivered frenzied, heavy ass rock riffs and I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear there's no let up in that department. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the reasoning behind soon to be classic 'NWONWOBH' and opener 'TFT' (which you've gotta assume is a take on ACDC's 'TNT') and the riffage obviously speaks for itself yet in contrast we are also treated to two of Tank's most laid back numbers, 'Lomond' and 'End Of Wonderful World', tracks that nod casually to the duo's affinity with country, folk, found audio recordings, semi-improvised post-rock and ambient strands of D.I.Y music. Then there's the predominant influence...PUNK FUCKING ROCK!!! 'Nailbomb' pays homage to the brutal might of Middlesboughs power violence pioneers Voorhees with a cover of 'Nailbomb' (telling the first track released on the now defunct Bradford DIY hardcore label Armed With Anger) as well a treating us to their own original punk thrasher 'D8'. What really ties the album together for me is the inclusion of a reworking of 'Acid Trax' by Phuture entitled 'Acid Jam', a song that is telling in it's interpretation and explains everything you need to know about Tank's merging of rock riffage and their fascination for repetition, dancing and good times. Then there's 'Wonderful World Of', a track that screams positive good times with it's 'guns out' delivery of a beautifully melodic rock riff. Robert Whiteley once again returns as engineer bringing the 'practically live' sound that suits the band so well and proving once again that he's one of the finest engineers currently doing the rounds. Couldn't be more happy with this lad. Great record. Also worth noting the s-weet Crass-esque sleeve and the bands return to there own label Obscene Baby Auction, one of the more successful D.I.Y label outings undertaken in the West Yorkshire area. You can listen/download the labels complete back catalog from thier bandcamp website for free! This is something you should most definitely do. Buy the album too though you dirty cheapskate's.

TFT is the third album by Bradford-based instrumental two-piece That Fucking Tank, following
2009’s Tanknology; a record that became a favourite amongst the DIY and noise-rock underground
in UK and Europe. TFT sees Andy and James deliver a similarly substantial amount of riffs, hooks
and grooves via their chosen tools of baritone guitar (played through and switched between multiple
guitar and bass amplifiers) and drums (stripped to the bare essentials i.e without toms) but with a
much-expanded palette in terms of style, influence and mood.

TFT acts as a concept album of sorts. Confidently in control of their instruments and having honed
the sound that has secured their reputation as one of the UK’s most invigorating live acts, Tank are
able to revisit and pull together influences that reflect both their broad taste and the fact that they
have been playing together in one form or another since the age of eleven. Recorded in the year
when these two friends reached thirty, TFT is a musical review of the journey they have embarked
on for the last twenty years.

Opener and title track TFT, kicks the album off with a trademark tongue-in-cheek intro (this time
a homage to Dire Straits) before cracking into the main riff of an AC/DC-ish banger. The hard
rock and classic metal influences raise their head elsewhere in NWONWOBHM and in epic climax-
track ‘Threads’. Melody plays a prominent role in ‘Wonderful World Of’ and ‘Car On Fire’ that both
push the Tank sound as close as they’ll come to sing-along territory. Perhaps most unexpected
for ardent fans will be the ambient tracks ‘Lomond’ and acoustic closer ‘End (Of Wonderful World)’
whilst those that know the band and their roots will be less surprised to find a cover of early 90’s DIY
hardcore legends Voorhees, as well as a chance-generated thrasher ‘D8’ which nods aggressively
to UKHC and British grindcore. Another homage is ‘Acid Jam’, a track that puts techno-pioneers
Phuture’s classic ‘Acid Trax’ through the Tank mill with heavily danceable results.

Rob Whiteley is back at the helm as engineer, having now worked with Andy and James for close
to ten years. This sustained relationship has led him to develop a unique recording technique that
captures the rawness and energy of Tank’s performances (tracks are performed live in the studio
with little or no overdubs) whilst creating layers of sound that translate the volume of a Tank gig as
closely as possible. The result is an album of unprecedented depth and colour, for a ‘noise-rock’
duo at least, that moves across different spaces and atmospheres whilst retaining a consistency that
represents the ‘minimal/maximal’ approach of the band well.

In keeping with the autobiographical nature of the album Andy and James have decided to release
the initial pressing of this record through their resurrected label Obscene Baby Auction; putting
the DIY ethics of the band into practice. A final important nod comes in the form of the packaging
and liner notes that consciously echo Crass. Although it may be difficult for first-time listeners to
make links between Tank and the anarcho-punk scene stylistically or aesthetically, an ethical and
political affinity exists; Tank do their best to demonstrate that good music need not be the product of
a careerist or cynically professional approach - it can just as likely come from friends having a good
time together.