Great British Hopes: Tigers That Talked
Continuing the seemingly never-ending trend of great bands coming out of Leeds, Tigers That Talked may well be the best of the current crop. Despite being together for a while now, I only discovered them recently, meaning I’ve skipped any early awkwardness the band may have experienced. This meant the band I started listening to was fully formed and almost ready to be the UK’s own Arcade Fire. It’s the obvious comparison to make, but the sound is certainly eerily similar at times.
Which is actually a disservice to Tigers That Talked. You see, if there’s one thing I never really cared for with that band, it was the words. Sure, songs like Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) were stunning, but most of them were rather too abstract for my own tastes. Tigers That Talked seem to have found the perfect balance. The verses are reasonably vague, but after a few listens you notice that there are grounded meanings in the songs.
Talk Black Heart Blue Eyes. Listen through a couple of times and you think it sounds rather pleasant. Listen a couple more times and you start to notice nice little wordplay like “bigotry’s obligatory round here”. A few more times and you’ve realised you’re listening to a song about something as mundane as the threatening atmosphere for a seaside town. Which is something you’ll be familiar with if you’ve ever visited Margate or a hundred other such places around the country.
Then there’s the video. I’m loathe to post videos usually as I don’t really like the format, but when one captures a song as perfectly as this, it only seems appropriate. Filmed largely at a British Legion club in Blackpool, you get to see the awkwardness of a band and an audience who are completely incompatible. Glimpses of the town punctuate throughout, seguing easily between the tourist glamour and dodgy looking estates. It’d be a remarkable achievement even without the song.
The Black Heart Blue Eyes EP will be released on June 8 via Bad Sneakers Records. Obviously on 7″ and download only because vinyl is far more useful to those who us want a physical copy that a round bit of fucking plastic that’ll play in anything.
tigers are doing a launch gig for their ep in leeds at the brudenell social club on june 3rd, our band ellen and the escapades are the main support.