AMG Review of Justamustache

Greg Prato
All Music Guide

If you're longing for the new wave/pre-MTV days when bands such as Blondie and the Tom Tom Club ruled, Detroit's Thunderbirds Are Now may very well rekindle Reagan-era déjà vu. Specializing in the same guitar-meets-synth sound as the aforementioned bands, Thunderbirds are obviously admirers of snappy little pop tunes, as evidenced throughout their second full-length offering (and first for the Frenchkiss label), 2005's Justamustache. It's hard not to listen to a tune like "Enough About Me, Let's Talk About Me" and not automatically picture a hopping dancefloor circa 1982, littered with dancers wearing headbands and/or legwarmers, while a tune like "From: Skulls" would have undoubtedly fit perfectly on the soundtrack to either #Valley Girl or #The Last American Virgin. With a sound comparable to both new wave originators and modern day revivalists, Justamustache seems tailor-made for both fans of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Gwen Stefani.