I knew the world would eventually catch up with Tsunami. In the early-to-mid-Nineties, in a scene seemingly codified around Dischord hardcore, and the jangle-pop of Slumberland Records (before they left for the West Coast), and the post-pop of Teen-Beat, young upstarts sprang up in the nation's capital. Simple Machines, a label run by Kristin Thomson and Jenny Toomey, not only released a slew of singles from the likes of Superchunk, Rodan, and Versus, and dozens more, but the duo's imprint became a home for their own band.
In the relatively brief window where Tsunami were making and releasing records, the band carved out a space in a crowded scene for something playful, fresh, smart, wryly cynical, and -- thanks to the stalwart DIY ethos of the Simple Machines operation -- resolutely independent. The three studio albums of Tsunami and their numerous single and compilation offerings are collected in this monumentally enjoyable new box-set from Numero Group. That this music is a good three decades ahead of its time shouldn't be a surprise to anyone in the DMV, but it may be a pleasant one for those outside this area.
Deep End from 1993 served up robust post-punk, the hooks and rhythms of songs like "Slugger" and "In a Name" having an insistence that seemed a cousin to lots of what one heard around this city back then. Still, stuff like "Genius of Crack", an earlier single, seemed both languid and prescient, the material drawing from a well of influences that others in the D.C. scene simply were not drawing upon. The lyrics of "Lucky" outlined an M.O. that, while close to the riot grrl ethos, was its own brand of self-determination.
"Girls who dare, girls who dare to do
Won't sit around and count their lucky stars or wait for validation from you."
Still, Tsunami never really preached some mantra as much as lived it. That's what set Jenny and Kristin apart back then. The tunes were personal and sometimes broadly pitched, yeah, but this wasn't the sound of a movement like what sprang up around Bikini Kill. It was, however, the outline of exactly how to run a label, and a blueprint of how women could succeed on their own terms in the American record industry. And at a time when the majors were snatching up anything punk or indie following the rise of Nirvana, the lessons of Tsunami were valued ones for so many.
The Heart's Tremolo may not have been as spry and punchy as its predecessor, but it's as richly detailed and realized as anything this group produced. More inward-looking than other releases by these musicians, there are pictures here of a band facing the challenges of even existing in the era:
"Erosion can come from a thousand tiny demandsThat line from "Cowed by the Bla Bla" could be about singing in a band; about dudes bothering women singing in a band; about life's everyday demands; or about the stress of running a label. And while "Fast Food Medicine" lends itself to an interpretation that it's about touring and meals on the road, Toomey's after something else in the lyrics, I think. There's something resoundingly downbeat about lots of The Heart's Tremolo, which is not necessarily a criticism. All that being said, material like "Kidding on the Square" is the kind of Tsunami music that first made me a fan. Smart and resolutely iconoclastic in its rhythmic attack, the tune stands as one of their very best numbers, and a highlight of this LP itself.
I've lost more than my fingerprints from a touching of too many hands."
A Brilliant Mistake from 1997 reveals the band sounding more nimble again. Smart songs about "David Foster Wallace" give this record verve and spark, even as Toomey and Thomson seem to be finding new energy. Too bad this was the last studio album from Tsunami. Still, amid the dense lyrics and personal journeys within the grooves of the record are lines (in "The Match") which seem to be the mantra we may have wanted from these DIY heroes all along:
"You can think that but don't say it aloud
You can do that all you like but you better not act too proud"
Loud Is As reveals a band who had every right to be proud, of course. The era really didn't make it easy though, did it? With grunge and its macho aesthetic flooding the airwaves, was there any room for nuance in American indie? Kristin Thomson and Jenny Toomey and crew seemed to think there was. The trilogy of albums these folks produced, along with the dozens of singles and compilation tracks also collected here provide evidence for a distinctly personal spin on post-punk, one which sounds still uniquely D.C.-inspired, and which, when heard now, seems so much more broadly relevant and forward-looking than those of us in and on the edges of this scene maybe ever imagined it would. Decidedly direct, musically playful and eager, Tsunami's tunes still stand as quietly defiant in their vibe as anything we heard here around the capital, and certainly anything American indie lobbed forward in the Nineties. This compilation makes it clear that by doing it themselves, and on their own terms, Tsunami succeeded. The material is rich and still rewarding, and -- as it should be evident by now -- vital to an understanding and enjoyment of Nineties-era American indie.
It was only a matter of time, wasn't it, before Tsunami would have their day again?
Loud Is As by Tsunami is out this week via Numero Group.
[Photos: Pat Graham, courtesty of Numero Group]