Run Don't Walk To Infectious Joy From Fitz And The Tantrums

How can you squeeze so much positive energy from something as basic as a whistle? If you're LA indie pop quintet Fitz And The Tantrums, the answer is with startling ease. I'd say "The Walker" has an incredible hook but that would be criminally understating things. The whole song is a glorified hook. It gets better the more you give in. As a declaration of self it's brassy enough to want to make you raise both hands in the air and shout a triumphant "Oh, yeah!!" to the rafters. Lead singer Michael Fitzpatrick does a great job playing the role of the lovable goofball. When he sings about how he loves to go 99 miles an hour, who is anyone to say he's pulling our chains? He's proud to be walking to the beat of his own drum. He's not crazy for diverting from the fluid yet established norms. We're crazy for being such sticks in the mud. The accompanying video would leave only the funny bone deprived unmoved to wet yourself peals of laughter. In my estimation the best adjective to describe "The Walker" is playful. The sax (Thanks James King for tossing caution to the breeze) comes off like something out of a Looney Tunes picture. Much the same could be said for the riotous clash between Mike and the cop in the video. His mannerisms in the vid clearly define the inner workings of a man who's been pushed way past reasonable limits and won't be kicked around anymore. John Wicks keeps the plentiful pep skipping along on drums. If society has super reinforced the chains, the preferred tempo throughout handily provides a lovable prison pass. Where Michael shines most is at the chorus. Nowhere is his self-image stronger. He powers his vocal chords to more emboldened and confident heights. As was intimated earlier the whistle is where much of the cheerful free spirit originates. Fitz and crew never stray far from this strain of jubilant silliness. Not only does "The Walker" obtain maximum impact as a pop charmer it could also double as one hell of a calorie busting workout tune. Half of LA apparently agrees if the video is any indication. I'm excited to point out another example of a song too happy to rise above the day-to-day murkiness of life and flat out revel in where one foot in front of the other takes you. Here's hoping "The Walker" satisfies the naysayers claiming a loose jointed confection like this doesn't have a place at the contemporary music table.