Music in its purist form is largely about the joy of creating and sharing. I think that’s definitely true of French guy, Tom, his solo project Supersonic Boy, and his recently released album Tales from the Coast. Here Supersonic Boy has produced a lo-fi, nicely fuzzy bedroom album largely worked on during lockdown; and you know what? it’s a pretty darn fine release. I’ve been promising myself a review of this album since August.

What has captured my ear is the effortless charm of Tales From The Coast and the overall impact kind of reminds me rather of the Velvet Underground and Nico.  I know perhaps that’s inevitable with Tom’s strong and mysterious (to our ears) French accent (yes I know Nico was German), but it’s also about vibe, the jangling guitars the homespun production and absolutely heaps of cool attitude.

It’s much much more than just a fuzzy tribute album however. Tom has produced something solid with the concept of a pirate of setting sail, and of treasure. There’s a feel for the Gallic West Coast and that sea shanty kind of thing, be it inspired by the likes of The Pogues, the Dropkick Murphys or even The Coral. On tracks like A Trip To Nowhere is a whole heap of attitude. There’s ambition with the strong instrumental menace in Sea Battle Theme with duelling competing riffs. Even a Bert Weedon classic reverb here.  

So what do we have in the 22 minutes of this album? A heap load of fun actually. I’m not surprised that my review of Tom’s track Treasure Island is for my little website this year’s most read review. This album has a strong vibe, heaps of charm and overall Tales From The Coast is a pretty impressive debut.

Chris R