Music to drink tea by
Posts tagged Tigercats
Playlist from Moogie Wonderland 24 June
07 months ago
in Kent Scene
Last night was our second DJing experience, and it was rather a contrast to the first time around. It was all rather last minute, meaning I didn’t have five weeks to fret about song choices. It was in a coffee shop instead of a bar with a dance floor, and given the rain and other factors, there wasn’t exactly a big turnout. Didn’t matter though as I still ended up enjoying myself immensely. Here’s what I played:
1. Herman Düne – Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
2. Belle & Sebastian – Your Cover’s Blown
3. The Hidden Cameras – The Mild Mannered Army
4. Tigercats – Banned at the Troxy
5. Butcher Boy – Carve a Pattern
6. Art Brut – Lost Weekend
7. Shrag – Hopelessly Wasted
8. Comet Gain – You Can Hide Your Love Forever
9. Heavenly – C Is The Heavenly Option
10. God Help the Girl – Perfection As A Hipster
11. Milky Wimpshake – True Love/Youth
12. Pants Yell! – Your Feelings Don’t Show
13. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – My Terrible Friend
14. Cats on Fire – Higher Grounds
15. The Wave Pictures – I Love You Like A Madman
16. Moustache of Insanity – Dinner Party
17. Allo Darlin’ – Let’s Go Swimming
18. Pocketbooks – Cross the Line
Tigercats – Banned at the Troxy
0
You ain’t seen nothing yet
We’re gonna get bigger than national debt
So proclaim Tigercats toward the end of their sprawling new single, Banned at the Troxy, and it may just be true. The evolution of Tigercats has been an odd one. Forming from the ashes of the mighty Esiotrot, the band has quickly risen through the London indiepop ranks from go-to support band to a band capable of selling out gigs as headliners in their own right. Their earlier releases were focused more around three minute pop songs, but Banned ups the ante to cross the five minute barrier, and doesn’t even come close to outstaying it’s welcome. It builds, jangles, builds some more and ends in a controlled chaos of noise, all without ever losing it’s sense of fun. Which is demonstrated by the wonderfully whimsical video below:
B-side Skydiving (below) is just as interesting in itself. A much more downtrodden, sullen affair, it manages to run on for nearly four minutes with only two lyrics throughout. From most bands, I’d find this to be a rather frightful prospect, particularly given how trite those lyrics could have ended up sounding: “Where do you go when you fall apart / Into my arms and into my heart”. Yet four minutes of this somehow works and ends up being the most mature thing the band have recorded thus far.
The Banned at the Troxy 7″ picture disc is out now on the lovely WeePOP! Records. If, like me, vinyl isn’t your thing, it’s also out on download places that aren’t iTunes. If, like me, that isn’t your bag either, you’re just too damn fussy I suppose.
Website / Bandcamp / Myspace / Twitter / Soundcloud
Top 24 Songs of 2010
1The song list this year has a lot of crossover with the records list from yesterday. I suppose that is to be expected to a certain degree, but I get it’s a little repetitive for me to be banging on about the same bands over and over again. Still, that’s the nature of these lists, and I’m not going to throw in other things for the sake of it.
1. Los Campesinos! – A Heat Rash in the Shape of the Show Me State, or, Letters from Me to Charlotte
Los Campesinos! manage to win the double, taking both best record and song of the year. If I’m perfectly honest, the song choice is pretty arbitrary. Letters from Me to Charlotte just about stands out in front to me, but it could have just as easily been The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future or In Medias Res. Or about half of the album to be honest.
2. Superman Revenge Squad – Fairweather Friends
Another one where I spent a fair bit of time trying to decide exactly which song from the record to go with, before settling on Fairweather Friends. It’s probably best represents the EP, as well as the Superman Revenge Squad project as a whole. The usual topics are on the agenda here: death, looking back on past relationships and irritating people at gigs. All topped off with some beautiful strings.
MP3 Superman Revenge Squad – Fairweather Friends
3. Standard Fare – Dancing
Dancing is probably the most personal song on the Standard Fare album, yet it still sums up the band perfectly. You’ve got heart on sleeve verses about breakups and getting back together interspersed with rapid sections about how dancing will make everything okay. If any band could sum up the state of the current indiepop scene, it’s this.
4. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No to Love
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart just bring good feelings. I was slower to warm to them than most, but in the past year, I’ve fallen for them completely. Say No to Love is a lovely little bridge between the first and second albums, and while it doesn’t mess with the formula too much, it’s just too wonderful for me to complain about that. Quite possibly my favourite current band for videos too.
MP3 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Say No to Love
5. Antarctica Takes It! – Try Try Try
This song pretty much hit me out of nowhere in the summer when I saw Antarctica Takes It! live twice in a couple of days. I was only familiar with their first album at that point, so Try Try Try was quite a surprise as there’s nothing like it on there. The vocals on it might not be as strong as some of their others, but the lyrics and the way it’s constructed more than make up for that.
6. Shrag – Rabbit Kids
I love pretty much everything on Life! Death! Prizes! so you get Rabbit Kids pretty much entirely because I love the video so much.
7. Johnny Foreigner – Harriet, by Proxy
It’d be easy to dismiss Johnny Foreigner at this point. Two albums in and they haven’t achieved the success they rightly deserve, but hopefully a shift to the plucky Alcopop! will give them a new boost. The brilliantly titled new EP You Thought You Saw A Shooting Star But Yr Eyes Were Blurred With Tears And That Lighthouse Can Be Pretty Deceiving With The Sky So Clear And Sea So Calm shows the band exploring newer territory too. Harriet, by Proxy is the most obviously JoFo song on there, and reminds us exactly why we were so excited about the band in 2007.
8. Allo Darlin’ – Dreaming
Allo Darlin’ could do no wrong this year, and Dreaming was the pinnacle of their work. The song features the guest vocals of Monster Bobby that gives this a rather Heavenly-ish vibe, which is no bad thing. The video was shot during London Popfest last year and is just lovely. Wandering around London late at night has never looked so enjoyable.
9. Kid Canaveral – Smash Hits
Quite possibly the oldest song to be included here, but I only discovered it this year, and it was on Kid Canaveral’s debut album this year, so I’m going with it. A brilliantly snobbish tale of the horrors of dating a girl whose “music taste’s shite” that’s just great fun.
10. The Singing Adams – I Need Your Mind
I came late to The Broken Family Band party, so I’m jumping in early with Singing Adams, the new band of BFB front man Steven Adams. If you’re already familiar with his former band, you know what to expect here. The alt-country leanings may have been toned down considerably, but there’s more than enough of the same catchy pop sensibilities and witty lyrics to go around. As a debut single, I Need Your Mind is remarkably self-assured and firmly cements the band as one to go to big things this year.
11. Betty and the Werewolves – Euston Station
12. Belle & Sebastian – I Want the World to Stop
One of the few bright lights from a horrendously disappointing album.
13. Acid House Kings – Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?
Playful enough to be a nice easy listen, while also resonating a little more for those who have been in such a situation. Exactly what any good pop record should be doing then.
MP3 Acid House Kings – Are We Lovers or Are We Friends?
14. This Many Boyfriends – I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels)
This Many Boyfriends continue the long indiepop tradition of entirely songs based around references to other bands. Not just the Pastels either. Springsteen, The Go-Betweens and if I’m not mishearing, The Cribs all manage to get themselves mentioned in the song. There’s not much more to it beyond these references, but it still has a rather endearing charm to it. It sounds rough and ready, which is about the only style you can go with when your spending three minutes comparing music tastes with a loved one.
MP3 This Many Boyfriends – I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels)
15. The Felt Tips – Boyfriend Devoted
16. Stagecoach – Not Even Giles Would Say We’ll Be OK
Not Even Giles Would Say We’ll Be OK (which the nerd in me really hopes is a Buffy reference) may be their finest release yet, striking the perfect balance between 90s US indie rock throwback and their own sound. If any band has a chance of making it big in 2011, it’s Stagecoach.
17. The Just Joans – Stuart’s Got a Dirty Book
A glorious tale that manages to combine two somewhat conflicting topics: religion and masturbation. It’s hard to imagine many bands that could get away with lyrics like “struggling with the word of god / a hand on my bible, a hand on my knob”, putting The Just Joans into a rather unique position.
MP3 The Just Joans – Stuart’s Got a Dirty Book
18. World Atlas – The Winter Stories
19. The National – Afraid of Everyone
20. Tigercats – Whitechapel Boys
21. Soda Fountain Rag – Are Philosophers Lonely?
Short and to the point, Are Philosophers Lonely? addresses exactly what the title suggests. Are philosophers destined to be by themselves? Moving between wryly comic images (philosophers eating tv dinners) and something rather more melancholy (“even their sweethearts don’t know what they’re talking about”).
MP3 Soda Fountain Rag – Are Philosophers Lonely?
22. Love Ends Disaster! – There’s Room In My Tardis For Two
City of Glass, the debut album by Love Ends Disaster! was a favourite of the year, and while there’s some stunning songs on it, it’s this one that stands out. Conventional wisdom would suggest I was swayed by a Doctor Who reference, but there’s more to it than that. That might have got my attention in the first place, but it’s just a really good song regardless. There’s the kind of melancholy vibe that always works for me, but it also has the “this should really be a hit anthem” quality to it too. Throw in some actual TARDIS sounds as well and you’re on to a winner.
MP3 Love Ends Disaster! – There’s Room In My Tardis For Two (live)
23. Roadside Poppies – I’ve Just Been Told That a Woman Fancies Me
I’ve Just Been Told That a Woman Fancies Me is literally what it sounds like, a joyous celebration of the fact that a woman seems to like our narrator, despite the fact he knows absolutely nothing about her. Why let pesky details like that get in the way? That we end up with lines like “I can’t wait to tell my girlfriend” makes it all the more perfect.
MP3 Roadside Poppies – I’ve Just Been Told That A Woman Fancies Me
24. The Grave Architects – The Bike Song
The Grave Architects really don’t sound like anything I’d expect a band (presumably) named after a Pavement song to sound like. The first part of the song might just get away with it. A little on the quaint side perhaps, but what do you expect for a song that starts “the first love of my life was not a girl, it was my very first bike”? It tells a fun little story of learning how to ride a bike and falling in love with cycling. Then about a minute in, it turns into, of all things, a rap epic. Yes, rap. And somehow it gets away with it. Nothing I can say here is going to do justice to a terribly white man with his fluorescent shirt and cycle helmet rapping about evil motorists cutting him up. Of course, that’s not it. It then decides to just rock out a bit, proclaiming, with full earnestness “I love my bike!” over and over. It’s all utterly stupid, but every time I watch the video above I find myself grinning from ear to ear. I think my favourite part of it is actually watching the people biking in the background and their reaction to the singer’s antics. Brilliant stuff.
Tigercats – 1985
11 year ago
in MP3s
It seems that you can’t move around in London at the moment without somehow arriving at Tigercats gig. From recent listings, it appears that if there’s an indiepop gig happening, they will be there to support. Which isn’t a bad thing because it shows they are taking this lark seriously and because they are really quite excellent, particularly for what is ultimately a new band. Of course, the grand irony in all of this is that I still haven’t managed to see them.
Following on from their great (and brilliantly timely) Konny Huck single, the band are back with a new release that was apparently only finished up last week. Gone are the days when you waited months for a release to be sorted out, now they are with us a few days after a band finishes them. Anyway, Easter Island doesn’t really deviate from what the standard set by Huck, which is fine as the band are sounding increasingly assured in what they are doing.
MP3 Tigercats – 1985
Easter Island is out now in physical form and on the wonderful Bandcamp, where you can buy all three songs for a mere £1. It’ll follow on iTunes and other such services on October 1. It’s being released by Haircut Records.
Tigercats – Konny Huck
0It’s always saddened me that Esiotrot never managed to come to anything for whatever reason. There’s a million reasons why this could be the case, but for whatever reason they never gained more than the cultist of followings. Which for a band that recorded one of my favourite songs ever (Emily Scott) is a shame. It’s seemed like the band has been winding down for a while now, with hardly any gigs and nothing in the way of new recordings, so it’s just the right time for Tigercats to pop up.
Tigercats features the vocals of Duncan Barrett, the lead singer of Esiotrot, and if I’m perfectly honest, I couldn’t really tell the difference between this and a new song by that band if I didn’t know any different. That’s certainly no bad thing though, as it was always Barrett’s unique vocal delivery that worked so well in the past. The band has already played with Tender Trap and Hexicon, so with a bit of luck, maybe Tigercats will have a rather bigger indiepop future.
The Konny Huck single, featuring b-sides Stevie Nicks and Whitechapel Boys will be released soon on Haircut Records. No, I don’t have the faintest idea how the video connects to the song either, but it’s clearly the work of demented genius.
