ARTIST: Fitz and the Tantrums 
TITLE: Pickin’ Up the Pieces
YEAR RELEASED: 2010
CHART ACTION: #140, #1 Heatseekers
SINGLES: Winds of Change, LOV, Breakin’ the Chains of Love, Moneygrabber (#2 Adult Alternative, #33 Rock), Don’t Gotta Work It Out (#23 Adult Alternative)
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: No, but they all could have been on the radio
LINEUP: Michael Fitzpatrick, Noelle Scaggs, James King, Ethan Phillips, Jeremy Ruzumma, John Wicks and others
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: After a successful home-brewed EP and a great set at SXSW, a singing and an album release quickly follow to great success.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: Taking three tracks for their debut EP, and recording seven new ones in the same home studio, Fitz and the Tantrums debut record was rolled out and became a hit…slowly. As soon as “Moneygrabber” hit the radio, though, people were enthralled with the neo-soul-pop-retro band.
Featuring hooky melodies, retro-sounding arrangements, and a dynamic vocal duo of Michael Fitzpatrick and Noelle Scaggs, this record is catchy and fun. There’s nothing more you need or want from this kind of album.
You may quibble about the inconsistent pastiches at times, and a couple of songs aren’t top notch, but, again, it’s a fun record. Fun!
NOTES & MINUTIAE: They were signed the morning after their SXSW set.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No
GRADE A-: Fun, Goddamnit! FUN!
