Tiny Masters Of Today - 'Bang Bang Boom Cake' (Mute) Released 13/08/07

People who get excited by kids are usually put on a list or chemically castrated but in this case it’s all perfectly above board. Let’s get the age thing out of the way. Siblings Ivan and Ada  have a collective age of 24. Cue collective gasp of disbelief and repressed memories of Hanson surging up the back of your throat. But he’s 13 and singing about politics and surely she should be listening to High School  Musical  like a normal 11 year old? And if that’s all you can think of at the thought of Tiny Masters Of Today then remove your head from up your arse and listen.

‘Bang Bang Boom Cake’ features an impressive number of collaborators and may herald big things for the tiny twosome but the fact that so much attention is given to their age could deter people from buying it or just enjoying the 13 tracks for what they are. The opener ‘K.I.D.S.’ first  heard on the Tigertrap release ‘Big Noise’ sets the tone. Think Jello Biafra meets The Ramones as the  words "Hey ho" open up a can of worms by listing how grown ups have fucked up the world. Similarly ‘Sticking It To The Man’ and ‘Bushy’ combine this energy with a ballsy and scathing account of modern life. There’s something gloriously refreshing about the young voices against a backdrop of lo fi distorted guitar. This CD is bound to inspire a nerd fest on par with the Buffy finale as arguments over precociousness versus production blaze late into the night.

The production by Russell Simins of New York garage band Blues Explosion is very cleverly done  that’s for sure. The electronic and dialogue samples provide a sense of quirkiness and humour. Although ‘Pictures’ and ‘Empty Book‘ are perhaps the weakest tracks on the album simply because they lack the bite of the other material but even at the weakest points TMT show that can still produce a catchy chorus.  In fact, it’s all so well done that you’ll get withdrawals if you stop listening to it.
‘Trendsetter’ co written  with and featuring Kimya Dawson (Moldy Peaches) offsets  a vitriolic attack on corporate industries and their influences on kids  with a contagious chorus including the numbers 5318008 which  upside down on a calculator reads as boobies.

‘Bang Bang Boom Cake’ is inspirational fun that will be a hard act to follow. We can but live in hope that they keep their feet on the ground and keep on exploring their talents and don’t let the critical acclaim mean everything.