Tough Age

***Waiting Here is the 2023 album from stalwart powerhouse pop band Tough Age, marking the 10th year of a Tough Era. Returning to their original home of Vancouver after spending over half of their lifespan in Toronto and reuniting with band members from throughout their cross-country existence, the reanimated trio have combined the charged energy of a fresh start with the sharpened songwriting of a veteran group. The resulting 10-song collection is the most cohesive, contemplative release in Tough Age’s decade-spanning discography. Evolving alongside their wide-ranging influences, Waiting Here slows the frenetic pace of Tough Age’s previous LPs via mesmerizing guitarmonies (“Scattered”), Eno-channeling surf drone (“In a Garden”), and an expansive Yo La Tengo-esque riff meditation (“Getting Closer”). The 12-string jangling “Time & Again” is frontman Jarrett Evan Samson’s attempt to write a pre-folk-revival Fairport Convention song played by The Byrds, juxtaposed by twee punk ripper “Paradise by Another Name” with lead vocals from bombastic bassist Lauren Smith. Soaring pop stunner “Which Way Am I?”, cut from Tough Age’s 2020 album of the same name, gleefully spreads confusion with the twisted world-building logic of Guided By Voices or The Fall. Waiting Here concludes with its blown-out organ jam title track, cycling back to the band’s Flying Nun loving origins in a worthy successor to The Clean’s “Tally Ho!”. The wait has been worth it.