Tiger Army - 'The Early Years EP' (Hellcat)
3/5
By: Thomas Hannan
Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you 'Psychobilly'; uh-uh - not a daft horror film or comic book character, but instead a sound exerted at lightning pace by American three-piece Tiger Army, carving out a style that blends primal rock and roll with contemporary US punk, sometimes to dazzling effect. Altogether hardly the world's most customary genre, you'll be forgiven for not being too clued-up as to the story so far. Thankfully, though, here Tiger Army offer you a chance to start at the beginning.
The 'Early Years EP' isn't strictly speaking a new release. It contains within its garish, luminous-green, tiger-striped sleeve the first Tiger Army recordings, consisting of the 'Temptation EP' along with various covers and demos, released after many years as a thank-you to fans. And damn fine fun it all is too - unconventional, manic and defiantly thrashed out at a relentless rate of knots.
Opener 'Temptation' is catchy punk-rock at its infectious best, reminiscent of Operation Ivy at their finest and in possession of an instantly memorable killer chorus. Then, on the outrageously upbeat 'Twenty Flight Rock', they actually manage to perfect the sound of Chuck Berry fronting NOFX, assembling a music that would fit perfectly in a rowdy 50's diner. Of course, it's all highly derivative of both r 'n r and punk, but it's because there are so few people daring enough to combine the categories that Tiger Army can pull this off with such stylish swagger... Who knows, perhaps everyone else has forgotten how great a Double Bass sounds no matter what record it's on...
However, marking them out as musical innovators is getting the wrong end of the stick. Yes, it's enjoyable stuff, but undeniably all a little repetitive too. But it would also be a mistake to judge a band solely on a collection of early rarities, rip-offs and out-takes - especially one that otherwise does show so much promise. Tiger Army have been kind enough to show you how it all started. Now, don't you want to see how it ends?
Artists in this article: Tiger Army
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