The Noise review, October 2003

THYLACINE

Thylacine

10 songs

First, it came in a neat tin case---like the ones Fanny Farmer cigarettes used to come in. Second, Thylacine is defined as a wolf- like marsupial of Tasmania. Taken together, that's more than enough impetus to rescue this from the bottom of T Max's CD bin. Brilliantly original, Thylacine is the best thing ever to come out of UMass Lowell (well, that and my tech writing certificate). "Dark" debuts with Mark Whittaker's tiptoeing stand up bass, then yields to Susan Cruikshank sweetly crooning, "I only do it in the dark..." On a dime, she turns on the tough grrrl sexiness of Debbie Harry or Shirley Manson---but with a twist of jazz. Rob Mercier manipulates guitar, bass, keys, and programming with finesse. "Speed of Light" has the synth feel of an '80s tune (think Berlin), the keyboards captivating enough to make Asia or even ELP blush. "When Beauty Comes to Town" is ponderous in a hypnotic Depeche Mode kind of way. "Horribly Wrong" is wonderfully right with swirling wah wah, foreboding chord changes, and a sorrowful bluesy guitar from the David Gilmour school of technique. "Collide" is stinging distortion and percussion fit for a foggy swamp. If you have not guessed by now, I like this. www.thylacinemusic.com (Tony G)

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