Tomas Ford is a brave musician.

And I don’t just mean when he’s naked on-stage at the Lily Pad heckling bikies, having an epileptic seizure on the floor of the Amplifier to a crowd of six, or handing out liability waivers to people attending his aptly titled show Tomas Ford vs. The Audience.

Ignoring his confrontational live persona, the ten tracks on Ford’s freshman release Nobody Wants to Be You demonstrate his willingness to experiment with various different elements of pop, punk and electro-clash, resulting in music that is both eclectic and interesting.

It’s different, and it makes you think- two factors which can often deter larger audiences. Loudspeeka could get a dance floor moving with ease, Postal Aid Package From Mum is surreal, disturbing, and poignant, while Domestic Utopia is a simply beautiful melodic pop tune. Ford’s impressive vocal talent, whether sung or spoken, is also worth noting.

Strange music from a strange man, Nobody Wants To Be You has an undeniable quirkiness that may deter those unwilling to invest the thought. But, if strange, bizarre or challenging music is your thing, then you’re in for a good time.
- Dominic Pearce, Rockus.com.au, January 2007

Genuine fruitcake or pretentious wanker? That’s the question most people ask of Tomas Ford. Luckily, Ford is a very smart guy, so you have to figure that, no matter which of the two answers is correct, he is well aware of both possibilities, and has a lot of fun bending the rules.

Sounding like everything from poetry set to weird electronic bullshit, to boy band pop, to Mr Bungle outtakes, Nobody Wants To Be You is a strange and varied listen that utilises a great many of Ford’s skills. Said skills are weighted quite evenly, though Ford’s lyrics and ‘crooner’ style singing are where the solo artist truly excels.

With something for everyone, Nobody Wants To Be You is a very versatile record, but be forewarned… the idea here is to challenge, so most of the music falls into the ‘love or hate’ realm. If you can handle that, then uncle Tom’s got some fuckin’ awesome, weird shit for ya.
- Mike Wafer, X-Press Magazine, 26/10/2006

It's instantly intriguing, opening with Electricity Solo where a bunch of eerie noises are accompanied by a rant about faulty power and phoning Western Power, that is just as likely to really be about the character's relationship with his father. It's followed though, by a cover of Radiohead'sNo Surprises with simple electronic instrumentation and vocals by Roly Skender*. It fits oddly next to the other tracks on the album, but is characteristic of the random nature of this man's brain.