Tiger Army – Music From Regions Beyond
Psychobilly: the unholy mixture of punk, Appalachian country and the hillbilly stereotype is not a genre that I'm all too familiar with. Whilst I own science-fiction themed psychobillies the Phenomenauts debut album, and have enjoyed what little I've heard from Copenhagen's HorrorPops, psychobilly is still somewhat of an unknown quantity to me. Due to its close ties with the loathsome arm-pumping banjo-plucking stereotype to which hillbilly influenced music tends to lean, I can't say that I particularly wish to get acquainted with it either. However, always being open to new music and preferring to challenge my preconceptions than accept them, I thought I should dive right into Californian trio Tiger Army's new release with an open mind. And that is just what I did.
The first thing that struck me upon giving 'Music From Regions Beyond' a listen is how diverse the record is: as the title suggests, the band leaves their particular pigeon-hole to borrow ideas from all over the musical spectrum. Whilst keeping true to their country roots – it's hard not to with the distinct sounding upright-bass anchoring the rhythm – the band explore everything from new-wave synth-pop ('As The Cold Rain Falls') and disco-flavoured epics ('Forever Fades Away') to punk-metal ('Hotprowl') and Spanish folk ('Hechizo de Amor'). All this diversity is welcome on one level as it ensures that the album is always moving forwards, however the excessive to-ing and fro-ing from one style to the next does stop you from getting a real grasp of what Tiger Army's sound is actually all about. Though all the songs are connected by an obvious affinity for both punk's blistering tempo and county's bouncing rhythm, other major musical similarities are few and far between.
Lyrically, 'Music From Regions Beyond' is a monotone affair. Sticking to dependable topics like love, loss and regrets, front-man Nick13 peppers his work with gothic metaphors that conjure images of 80s horror movies and the 'Thriller' music video. Whilst this particular poetic focus is nothing groundbreaking, it fits naturally with the haunting vocal warble the lead singer employs to give the lyrics a distinctly genuine characteristic.
'Music From Regions Beyond' is a strange album. Containing too little defining style to draw a massive interest, the record is nevertheless a great sampler for what Tiger Army could become if they focus on a particular direction, though with this being the fourth release from the group, one would expect they had their niche solidified by now. An album for existing fans only.