"Tiger, tiger burning bright, in the forests of the night .... " Hmmm .. did good old William Blake catch Buffi Aguero and Tiger! Tiger! at The Earl in Atlanta? Or somewhere on their Spanish tour? SXSW? Well he must have. This band does burn bright, and just like the tiger old Bill describes in that famous poem, there's a beauty and a darkness here. To describe them as a "garage band" or as "indie - pop" (not my term, trust me!) would be flippant. The band itself is full of folks who, well, know their shit. Talented artists as well as talented musicians, they serve as a wellspring of imagination. Their inspirations become ours, and that can only be a good thing, right? Right! I could point out how vapid and narcissistic society has become, and downright lazy and sophomoric. And that would be stating the obvious too, right? Right! So we need bands like Tiger! Tiger! all the more. RIGHT!
The old saying goes; "You can't keep a good woman down", and the Subsonics Buffi Aguero (drums, vocals) confirmed that fact (again) when she decided to front her own band. Fueled by good and twisted art and music, the band was called The White Lights. After a handful of great CD's and singles it kinda became Tiger! Tiger! somehow ... Up front is Buffi Aguero, and former White Light-er Sam Leja tickles the porta - organ ala Augie Meyers. Susanne Gibbony (Catfight,Lust) is on bass and backing vocals. Getting Susanne was a coup since she is such a well known Atlanta punk rocker. Shane Pringle (Pineal Ventana) and Mario Coangelo are the new (sorta new) guys. Shanes punchy guitar and sax work give Tiger! Tiger! another extra twist that has become a trademark of all of Ms. Aguero's bands (White Lights utilized vibes and baritone guitar for its unique sound). And Mario knows where the tom toms are, and leaves the cymbals alone for the most part. So what you say? So this is part of what gives Tiger! Tiger! such a beautiful, yet dark sound. It doesn't matter if it's a speedy song or a moody, off kilter waltz, The wall of sound Tiger! Tiger! builds is all their own.
The snake oil bottle of medicine on the cover of "The Kind Of Goodnight", the Tiger! Tiger! album (Chicken Ranch Records), is fitting for this quintet. Like the elixir inside, the songs are all dark and sweet, and layered with intoxicating sounds. The lyrics have depth and what someone once described as having a "restless ennui of freshly killed romance". HUH!?!?! No way, if anything the songs are about most peoples blindness to real life. Tiger! Tiger! seems to me more that it suffers no fools. And the beauty of it all is in it's economy. No stupid solos, no stomp boxes, and no "cuteness". Just real life, and wicked as that hiding tiger in those bushes over yonder ...
Their videos are really a great way to see what they're all about. On top of that, they are inspired pieces of art. Go to http://www.chickenranchrecords.com/media.cfm to see "So You Won't Deceive Me". It's an amazing animated look at the song, and I'm not going to spoil it - just go and see it! While you're there, check out Chicken Ranch Records Tiger! Tiger! releases. You can get their goods in vinyl, cd, or itunes. Another good place to see these Atlanta heroes of hip is to go to http://www.myspace.com/tigertigerband. There you'll see the "Black Daggers" video, and it's another creative visual trip. It's a damn great song to boot! Of course, if you can see them live we highly recommend it. The sound will wash over you and each song will have you not only shakin' your hips, you'll shake your head wondering why you've never heard of Tiger! Tiger!before. If you've been lucky (or smart) enough to see or hear them, you know how good they really are. The scary part is, they're just getting warmed up.
Next Installment - "Looking Forward, Looking Back" Pt. 3 - The Woggles
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