Tomas Dahl & Caddy – Ten Times Four

Back in 2015, Tomas Dahl created one of the most engaging albums of that year. Caddy’s The Bitter End drew it’s inspiration from the likes of Tom Petty, Brian Wilson and Dom Mariani. After that, Dahl put his alter ego in the bottom desk drawer for a while, resuming his 9 to 5 work-a-day existence.

So when he found time to start writing again, he was so pleased to be doing so that this batch of songs turned out more up-tempo and even more poppy still.

In Tomas’ own words:

“After The Better End I had some huge projects going on at work, meaning that next 10 months would be nothing else but working long days and weekends and no time for writing music. So when I first got around and found the time to write new material I was kinda tired and depressed because of the workload. So I wrote a lot of more uptempo full on power pop and punkrock songs to get it out of my system. The power pop songs ended up on this album.”

There are so many standout tracks here it’s hard to know where to start. The pulsating start of “Somewhere Beautiful” bursts into about as radio-friendly a chorus as you’ll hear this year. The aptly named “Contagious” is more than worthy of it’s title. With it’s harmonies, hand claps and monster hook of a chorus, it’s a real keeper. Then, one can settle comfortably into the jangle-fest that is “Not the One” or soak in the Big Star feel of “Safe Travels”. It’s nothing short of a vacation for the ears.

Caddy’s Ten Times Four is another excellent Kool Kat Musik release and is VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. GET IT HERE.