Tiny Masters Of Today: Skeletons

Tiny Masters Of Today are poster children for the glories of precocious youth. The Brooklyn siblings—Ivan, 15, and Ada, 13—have benefited from a series of absurd opportunities and encounters: guest appearances from Karen O and Kimya Dawson on their debut album, tour backing from Blues Explosion drummer Russell Simins, effusive praise from David Bowie. All of that has transformed the band into a vehicle for indie luminaries in search of childhood innocence, and Skeletons, Tiny Masters’ second album, provides a more comprehensive explanation why. It’s short (11 songs in 26 minutes), produced on Garageband, and endlessly earnest throughout every bit of its electro-inflected garage rock. So while a track like “Big Stick” sounds much like Peaches, it’s clear that Ada isn’t trafficking in double entendre. Likewise, “Abercrombie Zombie” might seem to suggest some rant against conformity, but any message is buried in a combination of dissonant squeals and childhood glee. It’s so, so easy to mock this band—the rudimentary aesthetics, the tight pants and high-tops, the scene-making patrons. But it’s more enjoyable just to raise the volume and await the bigger albums of tomorrow.