The last few years have been a
roller coaster for Scranton Pennsylvania punk outfit Tigers Jaw. Early 2013 saw
the band announcing the departure of three founding members. Tours were
canceled, rumors flew, and many thought Tigers Jaw was done for, but guitarist
Ben Walsh and keyboardist Brianna Collins announced that they would continue
Tigers Jaw without the other members. Departing members Adam McIlwee(guitar),
Dennis Mishko(bass), and Pat Brier (drums) decided to remain in Tigers Jaw long
enough to record one final album. That album is “Charmer,” and it is a record
that divides itself between the band’s signature bouncy punk rock and some new
stylistic surprises.
Over the course of the album, four
different singers take lead vocal roles. This gives “Charmer” a more diverse
feel than previous Tigers Jaw releases where guitarists Adam and Ben handled
most of the singing. The album kicks off with “Cool,” a fast-paced track with a
dense wall of guitar distortion, driving drums, and Adam McIlwee’s signature moaned
vocals. McIlwee has a knack for forcing clever rhymes out of words and coaxing
a lot of emotion out of short, basic lines. In the chorus of “Cool,” Adam
casually shrugs off the unfairness of the life with the line “It’s a cruel
world/But it’s cool.”
Brianna Collins takes over lead
vocals for “Hum.” Collins has sung lead on a few non-album songs before, but
“Hum” is her first lead track on a Tigers Jaw full length. The track builds
anticipation with a near forty-second intro repeat of a simple guitar riff over
and over. Guitarist Ben Walsh joins Collins on the chorus. The two sing of
long-term anxiety after a relationship ends and compare the painful memories of
someone to an ever-present white noise in chorus “You are the leaves at my
feet/You are the hum of electric heat.”
The album's middle tracks depart
from the classic Tigers Jaw style and push the band’s sound in new directions. The
title track opens with a bass line that sounds like it was lifted from one of
Jack White’s various classic-rock tinged bands. The song revolves around this
intro bass line, and it is a nice change of pace for a band where songs are
rarely bass centric.
“I Envy Your Apathy” is the biggest
stylistic curve ball on the album. It opens with a dramatic western-tinged
guitar chord while drummer Pat Brier supplies the lead vocals. This is Brier’s
first vocal appearance on a Tigers Jaw track. His voice is grunge tinged and much
lower than the band’s other singers. Imagine a soft-spoken Chris Cornell, airlifted
out of the 90s, and dropped on the stage to do guest vocals. “I Envy Your
Apathy” has a slower, less urgent pace than past Tigers Jaw material, and it is
an interesting stylistic experiment for a band that rarely strays from their
core sound.
The rest of the album is largely
standard fare for the group, but in a good way. Highlights include “Distress
Signal,” “Nervous Kids,” and “Slow Divide.” The group has always penned some of
the more creative lyrics within the pop-punk scene, and “Charmer” is no
exception.
The closing track is entitled “What
Would You Do.” It’s a nearly six-minute slow burner, and also Tigers Jaw’s
longest track to date. An infectious drum and bass groove drones for the
track’s entirety while Brianna and Adam complement the rhythm with a robotic
and unemotional, yet effective chorus of “What would you do?” over and over
again. It is a great closing track and the best stylistic departure on the
album.
“Charmer” could have easily been a bad
album. Over half the band went into the recording process intending to leave
after its completion, but the imminent division does not show through on a
single track. On the contrary, “Charmer” finds Tigers Jaw tackling new styles,
adding new vocalists, and crafting great songs as they’ve always done.
“Charmer” is an excellent swan song for Tigers Jaw as we know it because it
does not sound like a swan song at all. It’s a shame the group is losing
several members just as their style branches out, but fans have been given a
fantastic album to remember the band’s original lineup by while they anticipate
where Ben and Brianna will take Tigers Jaw in the future.
Score: 4/4
“Charmer” is available on Bandcamp
for $5. A CD/Vinyl release is scheduled for June 3rd.
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