Traffic Jams: Tropical F*** Storm – 'You Let My Tyres Down'

YOU LET MY TYRES DOWN by TROPICAL FUCK STORM (TFS)

If I love one thing, it’s a good story. If I love two things, it’s a good story paired with huge, messy, super-noisy guitar riffs and friends; Exemplified by this five-minute-long banger of a song by Australian supergroup Tropical Fuck Storm (the singer and bassist both made their bones in the also-excellent band The Drones). It’s called “You Let My Tyres Down,” and the riffage is undeniable.

On the story front, this song has everything. It’s got ram raids (which I had to Google the first time I heard it), weird Aussie crime families, Chinese food, casual drug use and even someone getting mauled by ants. It’s generally a good time, and when paired with the towering, fuzzed-out guitar riffs, it’s one hell of a great driving song for 90-plus degree summer evenings on a Los Angeles freeway with the stereo set to full-on danger-to-manifold ear-bleeding volume.

“You Let My Tyres Down” is the opening track on the band’s debut album, A Laughing Death In Meatspace, which was put out on the band’s own Tropical Fuck Storm records. They’ve since released a pair of other full-length records – Braindrops and Deep States – as well as a handful of 7-inches.

If you find this vibe appealing, I also recommend their cover of Lost Animal’s “Lose the Baby,” which serves as the B-side for their Soft Power 7-inch.