In the Valley of Sickness

They Say...

Review by Mark Deming, All Music Guide

"Are you gonna buy a record or what?" When a band starts a tune (in this case called "Picking Scabs") by asking that musical question with a serious dose of snotty vocal whine, you can tell they've spent some time on the road flogging their merch, and Thomas Function did more than their fair share of touring in support of their 2008 debut, Celebration. The follow-up, In the Valley of Sickness, finds the band sounding significantly tighter and more muscular than on their first full-length; Zach Jeffries' keyboards show more sonic variety this time out, bassist Travis Thompson and drummer Phillip Dougherty know just how hard to hit and keep the music moving forward with élan, and John Macero's guitar work splits the difference between the snark of late-'70s punk and the attitude of '60s garage rock. Most of what made Celebration a pleasant surprise is reprised on In the Valley of Sickness, though this album is weighed down by that traditional nemesis of young bands, The Sophomore Songwriting Slump. Thomas Function's melodies are more than strong on their second album, but the lyrics don't cut as deep (the lead-off track, "ADP Blues," may be the least alarming call for violence against police officers to surface in ages), and "Two Pigs" and "Not Asking for Much" lift familiar hooks from (respectively) Ray Davies and the Feelies, though there's no arguing that they borrow from the best. If Celebration was a unexpectedly great debut, In the Valley of Sickness is a good follow-up; as a band, they're every bit as good and maybe even better, but they ought to give themselves a bit more downtime to write material before they step up for Album Number Three.