Tilly & The Wall - Toff on the Town

It’s hard to mention Tilly and the Wall without mentioning Tap Dancing, they have no drummer, the tapping of toes and heels on a specially constructed ‘Tap Board√Æ produces the only percussive rhythm, and generally only one pair of lithe and active ankles is doing all the work. The lack of solid beats reduces the potential drive and danceability of their songs, there are a lot of bad jokes about extraneous drummers, but as the adage goes, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.√Æ However the missing skin basher at the back doesn’t phase tonight’s crowd and after a little encouragement the area in front of the stage is cleared of tables and chairs and a small but gentle group of dancers emerges, resulting in an ordered and well mannered stage invasion towards the end of the set.
Tilly and the Wall’s music is aimed squarely at the fey Indie kid, the bullied, struggling against oppression kid, who shyly stands in the corner turning the other cheek, either disappearing into the cracks of society or one day deciding that enough is enough, following their dream and becoming successful. Tilly and The Wall are trying to turn the former into the later; it’s just a shame that for the most part their songs are rather bland, they even make a Rage Against the Machine cover (seriously!) sound like Bright Eyes with girls and Tap Dancing.Because beneath the swearing and the shouting and the rallying calls Tilly and the Wall are a band that America excels at producing, a Coffee House band. A band that sits nicely in the Background without being to intrusive whilst the cast of the OC or Buffy sit around with Cappuccinos or mysterious drinks in coloured plastic cups discussing their emotional and relationship problems. Of course to some people this kind of music is the idea of heaven, and it obviously is to the throng at the front of the stage, to the people in the room mouthing along to every word of every song. A lot of happy, smiling people leave the Toff tonight, it may not be your kind of music but you can’t fault artists that have that effect on people.

Published in InPress