Album Reviews
In my mind, Tigers Jaw is somehow still a young band, even though they’ve already been around for 20 years and have just released their seventh album, Lost On You, out now on Hopeless Records.
The Scranton five-piece - Ben Walsh (guitar, vocals), Brianna Collins (keys, vocals), Mark Lebiecki (guitar), Colin Gorman (bass), and Teddy Roberts (drums) - gets off to a somewhat hesitant start on the Will Yip-produced Lost On You with “It’s ok,” an opening coda that consists of little more than acoustic guitar and Walsh’s voice. That hesitation doesn’t last long, though, as “Primary Colors” packs in all the elements that made Tigers Jaw a beloved name in emo households: a powerful rhythm section, Walsh and Collins’ overlapping vocals, and gorgeous melodies. Things get even better with the lead single “Head Like A Stone,” which ebbs and flows before bursting wide open in the chorus.
There’s a bit of a midway lull with “Baptized on a Redwood Drive,” which offers too little to justify its nearly six-minute runtime, and “BREEZER,” which lives up to its title and simply floats by. But then they dive into the uptempo “Ghost” and “Light Leaks Through” before tying it all together with the title track, and all is well again.
On Lost On You, Tigers Jaw isn’t offering much we haven’t already heard from them, yet it feels more refined than ever, with vocal harmonies and melodies that are downright beautiful.
Lost On You tracklist:
- It’s ok
- Primary Colors
- Head is Like a Sinking Stone
- Anxious Blade
- Baptized on a Redwood Drive
- BREEZER
- Ghost
- Staring at Empty Faces
- Light Leaks Through
- Roses + Thorns
- Lost on You
Lacking the talent to actually play in a band, Tom decided he would write about bands instead. Turns out his writing skills are mediocre at best as well.
