| CD Review - Tiger Warsaw - EP |
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| 7 Track CD EP Calculon Records (CAL011) 2008) |
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| Review by Dane |
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The opening track of post rock trio Tiger Warsaw's long-awaited EP, 'Totorro', is one of few songs that actually make me want to punch someone in the face, or throw a fire extinguisher at a moving car. I assure you I'm not a violent person, and as of yet I've not actually embarked on any Tiger Warsaw-induced rampages, but two minutes and thirty six seconds into this epic gem of a song - after the build up of delayed guitar and dirty as hell riffage - comes an catastrophic explosion of furious, primitive anger. The song constantly shifts from haunting yet captivating cleanliness to heavy, bone crunching mayhem - an element that feels quite schizophrenic and unsettling yet somehow manages to flow seamlessly. Needless to say, this band know how to open a record.
The next track, titled 'Goddess And The Grail' remains just as punishing and frantic. Opening with some clean and epic guitar layed over a marching snare beat courtesey of drummer Lurch, the song soon catapults into a fast paced Mastodon-esque bout of instrumental fury. Slowing things down halfway through, the band show that they're capable of producing an optimistic and more upbeat melody, before building things back up again and ending in their traditional wall of feedback.
Next comes the one minute and forty second belter 'Endowed Divorce'. This is one of the few songs under the band's collective belt that includes vocals on behalf of guitarist Dean. Opting for a more manly grunt this time rather than the brutish screams heard at the end of Totorro, Dean manages to seamlessly integrate his voice into the song to a point where it becomes purely another instrument. In my opinion this is a wise idea as I often find that singing can divert the listener's attention away from the music - and to do such a thing with Tiger Warsaw would be like going to an art gallery to observe the frames.
'Priests In September', the next track, is the first composition I ever heard by the band. Starting with gentle feedback and a sliding, scorching guitar riff that carries about half of the song through, it's not long before the band explode into another brutal and dirty onslaught which again includes the intensity of Dean's fiery growl.
'Earlsfield' follows, and without doubt remains the standout track and my personal favourite. Some gorgeously written melodies courtesey of both Dean and bassist Tev can be heard as well as some innovative snare playing, resulting in an epically beautiful crescendo that'll blow your head off. The only downer is that the song ends after a mere two minutes twenty nine - noone likes musical blue balls.
The next number, 'Bars', comes in the same vein as 'Endowed Divorce' - just over a minute of fast paced mayhem. Taking a more metal approach and demonstrating some fantastic drumming, the song builds and builds into what can best be described as a Mars Volta sounding chunk of guitar-stabbing bounciness which you'd have no problem dancing to. Odd considering the rest of this EP I know, but as soon as your head starts moving it's gone, and we're taken hurtling into the closing track, 'Portugal'.
Keeping up the fast tempo for the first forty seconds, the song slows down and we're carried along by Lurch's toms and Dean's surprisingly clean vocals - a rare thing but I was surprised at how well he pulls it off considering how brutal his voice sounds on the rest of the EP.
Halfway through the final track and Tiger Warsaw demonstrate a more droney sound, slowing things down to a point where each chord seems to last a lifetime, before sinking back into a clean and melodic arrangement. As always you can't expect things to stay like this as the band build up into their epic finishing burst of distorted fury. Cue feedback, cue end of CD.
What I love most about Tiger Warsaw is the elegant simplicity that comes with their songwriting. Throughout the record you are hearing a drummer, a bassist and a guitarist - even if a lot of the time it sounds like an entire, bearded orchestra.
Here you will find no synthesiser, no secondary guitarist and no frontman which I believe sets the band apart from the competition. Nothing but raw, dirty, balls to the wall rock - if that sounds intriguing then scrape four quid together and get yourself a copy of this post rock masterpiece.
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This page was last updated Monday, 11 January 2010
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