The Tuts

time to move on (2014)

emma

The Tuts are an all-female three-piece band hailing from West London. Their second EP, time to move on, combines new material with a live rendition of their most popular song, ‘Dump Your Boyfriend’, and a remix of ‘Worry Warrior’.

The Tuts have a punk, indie and poppy sound that draws on influences from X-Ray Spex and sounds vaguely reminiscent of Kate Nash. The combination of their sound and lyrics are something all of their own, though. time to move on is a fast paced EP, with songs addressing issues that the majority of the young, female population can relate with - anxiety, relationship trouble, and sexual harassment.

The EP leads off with ‘Worry Warrior’, the song that seems to be the most influences by X-Ray Spex (the cover of the single is, after all, homage to the cover of Germfree Adolescents). The song’s lyrics are more than a little bit relatable, with a chorus of “Worry warrior, What you worried for? Thought you were stronger”. The EP closes with a catchy, alternatively bubbly and heavy, more explicit remix of the song - it adopts a sound that contrasts with the sound of the rest of the EP, but it works, nonetheless.

The fast pace of the EP is maintained with the second song, a live version of “Dump Your Boyfriend”. It’s loud, with a quick tempo, and catchy lyrics. Once again, an utterly relatable theme - and one you can dance around to, at that. The following track, “Loving It”, comes with its own memorable lyrics: “We don’t see the struggle, We don’t see the pain…”. The last track before the remix of “Worry Warrior”, “1, 2, 3”, addresses sexual harassment (which, statistics indicate, occurs to one in four women). It’s tempo is just as upbeat as the previous songs, but the message is one of the most important - it’s about regaining confidence following sexual harassment, with lyrics such as: “I dress for me, not for you”, and “I wanna take back the night, I wanna take the day, I wanna take back the right to feel okay”.

As a whole, time to move on is a quick, catchy EP; an enjoyable listen, at the very least. The melodic guitar progressions and upbeat tempos make it fun, but the lyrics themselves give the EP a second, deeper level. The EP is full of anthems for this generation of young women, addressing the kinds of things (self-confidence, sexual harassment, mental illness) that need to be addressed now.