Music Banter - View Single Post - The Album Club: "Tiger Army" by Tiger Army

innerspaceboy · 09-27-2017, 09:16 AM

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
I'm not particularly well-versed in psychobilly. This will be interesting. I'll preface stating that this really isn't the space I'm in right now after a long and arduous night of hardware troubleshooting, but I'll give it my best.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
Psy-Fi's assessment was spot-on. It's certainly got a steady and unrelenting beat.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Perhaps its my novice position, but I'm having difficulty distinguishing one track from another. The next several tracks seemed to have a uniform tempo, melodic structure, etc.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
I'm not picking up anything exceptional from the vocalist. I was actually expecting a little more energy, but maybe his laid back performative style is par for the genre.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
Definitely not bad. Again, not where I'm at today, but I've no issues with it. In the right headspace this could be quite enjoyable.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it?
Some vocal effect changes aside, the whole thing sounded very uniform. I'm not sure if that's a plus or a minus here.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
I couldn't understand any of the words. In part that a result of the muddy production quality. Though that might be intentional for the genre?

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Sure. Though the percussion left a bit to be desired in my opinion.

9. What did you think of the production?
See #7.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
Totally new to me. I spend very little time in rock territory, but this definitely wasn't bad.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
See anything I've ever posted ever.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
One listen seemed sufficient to forumulate a basic opinion on this one. There wasn't a lot to dissect or analyze. Straightforward psychobilly. And that's just fine.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
Suprisingly I liked the cover track the best, possibly because it sounded the least like this new-to-me territory and was more in the style of the classic 50s sound I'm familiar with.

14. And the one you liked least?
"Werecat." It was more of the straight-up punk tracks and that's not really my bag.

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
I was researching a bit about the band while I listened, and saw it was their debut around track 10. I'd be curious to see how their sound refined itself or evolved over the course of subsequent releases.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
By the time I reached this question, "Outlaw Heart" was playing. I agree again with Psy-Fi that more of this wouldn't be bad at all.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
I cued it up without reading a thing about them, and the opening seconds sounded as if there'd be some atmospheric jazzy territory here. Sadly that was not the case. Surprisingly, it was the country elements that I enjoyed most about this record.

18. Did the album end well?
It ended with a sound consistent with the rest of the record. Nothing terribly novel, but a strong finish to the album.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
Percussion. Either get new gear, introduce greater variation, or record and mix the drums differently. Or better yet... all three.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
Definitely consistent. And a respectable first effort.

5/10