Hey everyone, as we wait for the next Halloween Classics to rise from my lab table, jolted to life by a lightning strike (Is that a clue? Yes), I thought this would also be the perfect time to tell you about one of my all time favorite bands. A band that hosts a three day super concert extravaganza every Halloween. A band that has songs about ghosts, werecats, and of all things Anabel Lee. That's right, the band that will never die, proudly sporting the tiger bat as their emblem, Tiger Army.
There's usually a process I follow when gaining a new "favorite" band, it isn't something I do on purpose necessarily, just something I noticed. It usually takes time for one thing, and a few albums. For example, when Radiohead became one of my all time favorites in highschool it took tons of listening through a bunch of their albums multiple times and as their music grew on me I found myself with a new favorite. Tiger Army, on the other hand, skipped all that, with one album and about a week of listening I was convinced that they were going to be part of my permanent music rotation, and here we are almost two years later and I have listened to them far more than anything else (Except for maybe Bad Religion, but that's a different entry).
Alright, so Tiger Army is what you would call psychobilly ... I can sense a bunch of you scratching your heads now, what the fuck is psychobilly? Psychobilly, my dear readers, is a mashup between punk and rockabilly with the odd distinction that the lyrics are usually inspired by horror films. So most songs are about zombies and what not, for the most part it's usually pretty dumb with some failed attempts at humor (I'm looking at you Nekromantix, "Horny In A Hearse?" really?). Yeah, most of what I've found in this genre is kind of disappointing, one of those situations where the idea is far more brilliant than the execution (Or maybe I'm just being too harsh). It's not necessarily bad, just something you might listen to around Halloween and completely forget about, not favorite band material (I'm going to get berated by psychobilly fans aren't I?). But then there's Tiger Army, there's something to these guys that makes them rise (Ghost Tigers Rise!) above your typical gimmicky psychobilly, and exactly why is kind of hard to pinpoint.
My theory is that it comes down to pure creativity, Tiger Army's lyrics just glow with colorful (Actually black and white, zing) imagery, and their compositions don't just pull from punk and rockabilly, they play with about any genre they can get their hands on (Moreso in their later albums but you still see glimpses of it in their older stuff), including country, emo, and even new wave (arguably their best song), and how they incorporate these things into the psychobilly sound is seamless and just plain fun. And sure, Tiger Army is inspired by classic movies, but instead of just writing about zombies and thinking that's enough to carry a song, Tiger Army's songs evoke images like this:
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| In the Power of Moonlite. |
The true classics, horror or not, and so what if their songs are filled with things like ghosts, mythological creatures, love beyond the grave, and possibly vampires? They actually touch on the melancholy involved in these subjects, not just the winking cynical sense of humor I get from the other psychobilly offerings. Which is not to say that they don't have a sense of humor, they do, I mean they have a song called "Werecat" for christ's sake, but I don't know, I guess it's that they have a certain maturity and obvious creativity I find lacking in other offerings.
I feel like I should change my tone here, I didn't set out to completely bash psychobilly as a genre, I promise. My point is that Tiger Army is fantastic, a shining example of great musicianship and writing in a genre that can quite easily become a gimmick in the wrong hands. No no, it's not that psychobilly is bad, not at all, it's that Tiger Army is easily leagues above their contemporaries, that's my point. And hell, I haven't even touched on how wonderful their front man's (Nick 13) voice is, which isn't typically a concern in the punk genres, a genre they also transcend for all the reasons I mentioned before. His voice is gorgeous, just listen to some of this stuff I've linked too.
So where should you start? Well I started with 2007's "Music From Regions Beyond," which is just great, this album cemented them as one of my favorite bands ever. If you want the album where they play with the most genres and yet still retain their aggressive badass punk roots, then by god this is your album. This is the album with the new wave song, the emoish song, and the song sung in Spanish, yeah you read that right. But let's say you prefer the rockabilly, something a little more mellow and classy. Well then 2004's "III: Ghost Tigers Rise" is the album for you, far more mellow than their other offerings and far more rockabilly and country leaning than anything else they've done, it's quite wonderful. Also I should mention that they write some of the best country songs I've ever heard. No kidding, they write songs that would make those assholes belting away with their fake country accents weep. There's no fake girlfriends leaving and dogs dying here. Actually I find it funny that a band in genre known for songs about zombies and ghosts can write songs that are more poignant and real than the trash you hear on country radio stations ... not that that's hard really.
If you go back further then you get into the more pure psychobilly, for instance 2001's "II: The Power of Moonlite" and their 1999 self titled. I can recommend "II" quite readily, it has a great aggressive punkish energy, with all that entails. And yet in all that is where you find songs like "Anabel Lee" and "Cupid's Victim" which you might not expect from such a band. And their self titled is great and all ... but you know, compared to what we've already talked about? Well, they've aged like wine, and there's nothing wrong with the grapes, but yeah, it's cool to see how far they've come, and hey, the first album is where the whole "Never Die!" thing started, which is such a kick ass running theme, and werecat, you can't fuck with the werecat.
I'll leave you with my favorite Tiger Army song, one of the best songs ever written, it's a song that makes me cry if I think too closely about it. I won't get into what it's about here, if you're interested after listening it's probably easy to look up, I found it without really trying. Anyway, it's called "Where the Moss Slowly Grows," proof that they're one of the greatest bands out there, and you probably haven't heard of them until now. Enjoy
Remember dear readers:
TIGER!!! ARMY!!! NEVER DIIIIIIE!!!!
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