Fatter of Mact is not a perfect album. Columbus, Ohio’s Tom Foolery and The Mistakes have always been a decidedly lo-fi group, and perfection isn’t something they strive for. That said, what this album might lack in sonic perfection is made up for in a handful of perfect moments, most notably during the standout track “Bros Before Hos.”

Weighing in as perhaps the mightiest dude anthem ever penned, “BBH” explores man’s inability to keep females from interfering with brotherly friendship. The tune opens with lead singer Kyle Sowash yelping and decrying a mate who broke the pact. By the song’s end, it’s clear that a friendship has been destroyed, not surprisingly, by a woman. The guitars dwindle to mournful picking and an exasperated Sowash utters the catch phrase one last time, “Bros before hos, that’s all I’m sayin’.”

Another winner is the remarkably titled “Argyle Vs. Tube in the World Series of Love.” Yeah, with a title like that, this song would still be genius even if it was nothing more than soundbites of the bass player farting through a condenser mic. As it turns out, it’s an incisive examination of life, love, and race-relations, all equated to the happenings inside a sock drawer.

Fatter of Mact is laced with observations of the everyday. A waiter with his finger in your water glass, a girl on a bus listening to Ludacris in her headphones; for Tom Foolery and the Mistakes, such fleeting moments provide the fuel for a seemingly limitless song tank. Sowash and his bros are clearly pumping indie pop from the garage for the pure and simple fun of it, happy to please themselves and anyone else who cares to listen. - (6.7/10) (0) Comments