Tarmints

Toil Like Devils, the Tarmints' fourth effort, is the musical equivalent of a James Ellroy novel: brutal, uncompromising in its artistic vision, and an unflinchingly honest exploration of the shadowy places of the human psyche. Music seething with such a palpable, exhilarating anger could easily come from dwelling on self-destructive...

By Tom Murphy

June 29, 2006

Help us weather the uncertain future

We know — the economic times are hard. We believe that our work of reporting on the critical stories unfolding right now is more important than ever.

We need to raise $17,000 to meet our goal by August 10. If you’re able to make a contribution of any amount, your dollars will make an immediate difference in helping ensure the future of local journalism in Denver. Thanks for reading Westword.

Contribute Now

Progress to goal

$17,000

$5,500

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
            "component": "23668565",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "STN Player - Float - Mobile Only ",
            "component": "23853568",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "Editor Picks",
            "component": "17242653",
            "insertPoint": "4",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - 2x Rectangles Desktop, Tower on Mobile - Labeled",
            "component": "24956856",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25 
          
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
            "component": "17676724",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          }
        ]

Toil Like Devils, the Tarmints' fourth effort, is the musical equivalent of a James Ellroy novel: brutal, uncompromising in its artistic vision, and an unflinchingly honest exploration of the shadowy places of the human psyche. Music seething with such a palpable, exhilarating anger could easily come from dwelling on self-destructive emotions, but the Tarmints transmute negative expressions of passion into inspiration. "Bob Dylan Klebold" is a song for every misfit who ever wanted to deal a death blow to bullying idiots delusional enough to think that abuse and dehumanization have no consequences. When the eerie calm of "Scan and Move" is punctured by the cascading hysteria of shrieking guitars, it is the sound of terror at suddenly encountering the incarnation of ultimate evil in the dark. "I Do," a harrowing song about a failed marriage, closes the album with some of the most crashing, devastating song dynamics of the band's career. If Laughing Hyenas and Gun Club melded together, the results might resemble the vitality and sense of danger in the music of the Tarmints.

Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

A message from Music Editor Emily Ferguson: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Denver’s music, events and entertainment scenes.

Support Today