Fooled You Twice is the second solo record from Thomas D'Arcy, formerly the lead man for the Carnations and Small Sins. Shame on us for letting D'Arcy continue to toil in relative obscurity, while he has been consistently writing albums full of great pop songs for the last decade-plus. This latest collection is no exception — it's crammed with deceptively simple pop gems, all of them overflowing with big hooks and harmonies, with lots of ooohs and wahs and squiggly synth lines sprinkled throughout.
The record is crisply produced, with D'Arcy's voice front and centre, and he sounds better and more confident than ever. There's a definite Tom Petty vibe on the excellent lead single "All Over Your Face," and you can play Name the Classic Pop Rock Influence across all of the album's ten tracks. That's not to say that it cribs overtly from other sources; rather, Fooled You Twice is clearly the product of an artist who reveres great pop songs, and is striving to make worthy contributions to the canon.
D'Arcy's press materials for Fooled You Twice include testimonials from a bunch of his more well-known indie rock contemporaries, and you can't help but wonder if they aren't a little nervous about how good this guy is. Watch your back, Canadian pop-smiths. Thomas D'Arcy is gunning for you.
(MapleMusic)The record is crisply produced, with D'Arcy's voice front and centre, and he sounds better and more confident than ever. There's a definite Tom Petty vibe on the excellent lead single "All Over Your Face," and you can play Name the Classic Pop Rock Influence across all of the album's ten tracks. That's not to say that it cribs overtly from other sources; rather, Fooled You Twice is clearly the product of an artist who reveres great pop songs, and is striving to make worthy contributions to the canon.
D'Arcy's press materials for Fooled You Twice include testimonials from a bunch of his more well-known indie rock contemporaries, and you can't help but wonder if they aren't a little nervous about how good this guy is. Watch your back, Canadian pop-smiths. Thomas D'Arcy is gunning for you.
