Indiepages.com

Records like this are pretty much why I still bother writing reviews - yeah, it’s a lot of work and I even sometimes get tired of it, but then I’ll get an amazing record like this right out of the blue, and I’m good to go for another few months. Tin Armor hail from Columbus, Ohio (sometimes I think what they say about that state is true), and play very catchy indie rock with a sound similar to fellow Ohioans Kiddo, the Weakerthans and the Smoking Popes (his voice is even a bit similar to Josh’s, but with less Morrissey). The first time I listened to this record, I was floored within 30 seconds, and kept getting more and more excited as it progressed through each 2-3 minute energetic burst of punky/mod-ish pop. On further listening, I picked out little bits here and there that only increased my enjoyment, like the brief 12-string solo in “Tall Shoes”. It’s impossible to pick favorites here, as there isn’t a bad song in the bunch - I’ll be sure to keep this excellent debut album in mind while assembling my best of 2007 list in January! MTQ=12/12 - indiepages.com

Jersey Beat:

Columbus, OH’s Tin Armor don’t sound like Jawbreaker, but singer/guitarist Matt Umland writes like Blake Schwarzenbach. In fact, Umland ranks as one of the most formalist songwriters among the current crop of young pop/punk tyros; his lyrics read and feel like sound like lyrics, carefully parsed and phrased and built around carefully chosen conceits and metaphors. (Tin Armor’s scenemates Delay, in contrast, write stream-of-consciousness rants that sound like the lyrics were dashed off in crayon on the back of show flyers.) What both bands share is an almost painful earnestness; these are songs about confronting the wonder and awe and sometimes the terror of being 20 and having your whole life in front of you. And that is a wonderful thing indeed. As a 3-piece (all named Matt, by the way,) Tin Armor play tightly constructed pop/punk tunes built around staccato bursts of power chords, descending bass lines, and furious drumming, hitting high notes on the choruses that test Umland’s range and provide the perfect vehicle for his heart-on-sleeve professions of love, doubt, and optimism. These are songs you can not only sing along to but believe in. - Jim Testa of Jersey Beat

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL

Indie pop meets punk, and sometimes there’s no place that I’d rather be. Heartfelt, pouring-it-all-out lyrics, delivered in a nasally MORRISEY style, backed up by jangled guitars rocking it out almost as hard as THE THERMALS. I’m a sucker for this, I can already guarantee myself that I’ll be proclaiming this CD as a masterpiece come a very drunken weekend. Did I mention the beautiful packaging to match the bountiful music? If THE HOUSEMARTINS were on No Idea. - Sean Dougan of MAXIMUMROCKNROLL

Npr.org

Open Mic, October 24, 2007 · The Columbus, Ohio trio Tin Armor constructs solid, well-executed power pop. With band members balancing time between Dungeons and Dragons, going to class, and working jobs, they manage to create a sound that is both familiar and entirely original.

While the songs on their album A Better Place Than I Have Been are economical, with an average length of about two minutes, the band doesn’t waste any time delivering interesting breaks, great melodies, and dynamic tempos. Tin Armor writes classic ballads about relationships. On the featured track, “Losing Proposition”, Matt Ulmand’s vocals peak with “don’t say it is inevitable because you’ve got a heart, I’ve got one too.”

Although Tin Armor says they’re not a band with a plan, their fundamental approach to writing pop music is a straight road. Guitarist Matt Umland explains, “There is no grand design for our ’sophomore release’ or a scheduled reinvention of ourselves after a near fatal accident/spiritual awakening. For the time being, we are making records and playing shows”.

Nuthin’ Zine:

A Better Place Than I Have Been (5 out of 5) How do you describe a wonderfully indescribable and unique album? Do I try to compare them to bands like The Weakerthans simply because they make me think of their songwriting skills at times? Nah. Do I liken them to Morrisey if only he’d cheer the fuck up and write some fun songs? Nope, that won’t do it either. Really, there’s no other band out there that comes close enough to the amazing songwriting and lyrical ability that these three young Matts deliver in spades here. Just pick up this album, be amazed by their unique phrase turnings and incredible guitar sounds. This is powerpoprockindiepunkblahblah at it’s finest! - DW of Nuthin’ Zine

Punknews.org:

“Walking in the park / sleeping in the car / Walking in the park / sleeping in the car” — sung a cappella before the instruments kick in, this is how the album begins. The music is basic vintage-sounding drum, bass and guitar power-pop / pop-punk with just enough action in the chord progressions to garner a comparison to Ted Leo + the Pharmacists. The vocals follow lofty melody lines akin to a certain former Smiths lead singer’s, but sung with the timbre of the guy from the Smoking Popes. Okay, fuck the rest of the comparisons, but at least we’re all on common footing here.

We’ve got 12 songs, and as far as I know this is the band’s debut full-length. The songs all hover around the two-minute mark, full of melodies and mini-harmonies. All in all, it should be an unremarkable experience. After enough time, the drum breaks in “Tall Shoes” start to run together with the bouncing bassline in “My Fatal Organ.” But this must be the fifth or sixth time listening to this album, and I find little things in every song that I seem to like. The band carries the album through with a solid energy and change-up pace that strikes me almost as much as Dookie did when I was 10. I’m magnetically drawn to it, trying to find flaws but can only come to one conclusion: I’ve grown accustomed to its face.

Either that, or it’s just completely unobjectionable music. That’s not to say that I’m paying attention to the lyrics. Apart from the opener, we get other lyrics like “Don’t you say it is inevitable because you’ve got a heart / I’ve got one too / Though I tried not to break yours / I did, I always do.” Lines like these are a dime a dozen in breakup anthems, but for some reason when paired with music that has such a sunny disposition, I don’t seem to mind.

Key cuts include “My True Step,” which showcases the band’s ability to write a solid uptempo pop song and “Red Fangs,” which displays a slight tempo change and a slightly less saccharine tone. However, in order to counterbalance the unwavering praise, at the end of the album I don’t really feel like clamoring my way to the start button in order to kick it off again. The mental bliss was only temporary, but I won’t object to it if submitted again. - Jesse at punknews.org