Vocally, Joshua Macero may recall a young Tom Verlaine, but it would take a lot more than that to start breaking out any Television-isms as most songs are built around clean guitar lines (with occasional fuzz used to great effect) and full-bodied organ and a very sensible rhythm section. The record's pacing is fantastic with not a dud to be found. But I'll tell you that the high point of the album is in the middle with "Relentless Machines," a track that is so good it's scary. It really is the sort of song that most bands will never come close to matching, a total classic. This is not to poo-poo the rest of the record though because it still has many gems. Four months into 2008 and this one's going to be very hard to beat. - DMa / Other Music

Thomas Function is an odd name for a band, but there again, this is a pretty peculiar group. The garage band hail from (sweet home) Alabama, and their ebullient take on the '60s is shot through with southern sensibility, from C&W to bluegrass, R&B to the blues. On the exuberant Celebration!, TF don't so much careen across genres as swagger, secure in their sound and the knowledge of the effect it's had on audiences across the country. Many of the songs here fit rather neatly into genres, like the C&W "2012 Blues," the bluegrass hoedown of "Relentless Machines," the psych styling of "Filthy Flowers" and "Can't Say No," the driving R&B of "A Long Walk" or the "Earthworms"'s blues. However, even these numbers aren't quite as straight-forward as they initially seem, for each is tinged with a touch of other sounds and styles. "Snake in the Grass," for example, is a musical homage to The Buzzcocks, but swishes psychedelic organ into the mix. "Conspiracy of Praise" is reminiscent of the Violent Femmes or even The White Stripes, but also boasts a psychedelic organ break, a western flavor, and a guitar solo beholden to the Rolling Stones. By the time listeners get to "Swimming through a Sea of Broken Glass," most will have given up even trying to identify all the elements within -- in "Sea"'s case, punky C&W, mixed with bluegrass, as alternately played by Simple Minds and the Velvet Underground. And its here that TF reach their greatest heights, punching through a pile of musical envelopes and into a dizzying sound all their own. Celebration! is filled with many such inspired moments, and without a dull second within. The album bristles with energy, the songs are studded with strong melodies and grand hooks, while the lyrics are much more thoughtful and downbeat than one would expect. All in all a lethal combination. - Jo-Ann Greene / All Music Guide