The Tuna Helpers

Texas Platters

Phases & Stages

The Tuna Helpers

Starring in the Suspicious Fish (Monkey Boy) Following in the footsteps of Austin punk vanguard-bearers like Meatjoy and the Fuckemos, the Tuna Helpers celebrate social deviance in a manner that's both hilarious and bass-ackwardly intelligent. From a purely musical standpoint, perhaps "punk" is a bit of a misnomer for a quartet so reliant on lilting vocals and violins. But when vocalist/guitarist Adrienne Sneed uses that voice to sing about taping feces to her ex's door in "Restraining Order," punk is the only word that makes sense. The Tuna Helpers have crafted their own vague mythology revolving around tuna and other sea creatures (along with all the double-entendres that may apply), but their treatment of it is too sophisticated to come across as pure schtick. Which isn't to say it's not super-fun. "Tuna Stalker" finds Sneed commanding, "Bring her to me, chicken of my sea," while "Manatee" celebrates Florida's state animal with an off-kilter march driven by guitar, trombone, and bizarre children's record vocal cadence. "Bicycle" is a bucolic, Sunday-go-to-meeting waltz that barely conceals the underlying prurience, and "Caterpillar" exudes the discombobulated playfulness of Shimmy-Disc's heyday. If that weren't enough, the Helpers' slide in a credible variation of Stephen Foster's "Old Folks at Home," too. Unless the Frogs coax Christian children's songstress Little Marcy into collaborating, this one should stand on its own for a while.

***.5

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Support the Chronicle  

READ MORE
More Music Reviews
Review: Holy Wave, <i>Five of Cups</i>
Review: Holy Wave, Five of Cups
Five of Cups (Record Review)

Raoul Hernandez, Sept. 1, 2023

Review: The Bright Light Social Hour, <i>Emergency Leisure</i>
Review: The Bright Light Social Hour, Emergency Leisure
Emergency Leisure (Record Review)

Raoul Hernandez, Aug. 4, 2023

More by Greg Beets
Our Music Critics Pick Their Top 10 Austin Albums of 2018
Our Music Critics Pick Their Top 10 Austin Albums of 2018
80 local picks from Molly Burch to Brownout

Dec. 28, 2018

Our Music Critics Pick Their Top 10 Austin Albums of 2018
Our Music Critics Pick Their Top 10 Austin Albums of 2018
80 local picks from Molly Burch to Brownout

Dec. 28, 2018

MORE IN THE ARCHIVES
One click gets you all the newsletters listed below

Breaking news, arts coverage, and daily events

Keep up with happenings around town

Kevin Curtin's bimonthly cannabis musings

Austin's queerest news and events

Eric Goodman's Austin FC column, other soccer news

Information is power. Support the free press, so we can support Austin.   Support the Chronicle