Familiarize Yourself

Not too long ago I had never even heard of Scranton, PA, and now it is the home of two of my favorite things, The Office and The Menzingers. Tucked away in the northeastern part of the Keystone State, Scranton seems to be producing more than just coal these days, as yet another great thing has emerged from the hub of Lackawanna County, Tigers Jaw.

I guess I’m a little behind the Tigers Jaw bandwagon, as the internet hype-machine has been building the young five-piece up since since their ’08 self-titled full length and last year’s Spirit Desire 7,” Tigers Jaw has been drawing high praise amongst the DIY punk scene for their ’90s alt-rock meets early emo sound. Labeled as “a poppier Archers Of Loaf or a more punk version of Pavement… except with keyboards and a blatant disregard for apostrophes” (yeah, it’s Tigers, not Tiger’s), I can’t help but also hear some definite Pinkerton-era Weezer influences as well as some glimpses of Saves the Day.

“I Saw Water” by Tigers Jaw

Tigers Jaw doesn’t sound like a band comprised of a few members that are fresh out of high school, and it is surprising that this young of a band is able to produce such a mature sound. Using killer harmonies and melodies hand in hand with some dark lyrical tones, it is hard to tell what kind of mood the band is in, but it works. I want to say that Spirit Desire is a great Winter, doom and gloom record, as I just discovered it, but I think I could also see myself listening to it happily in a car  with the windows rolled down on an August night.

I feel like I keep rehashing myself about being excited about young, new bands on this site, but Tigers Jaw is yet another one that has already laid a great foundation for what I hope becomes a solid career. The band will be releasing a new full length, and re-releasing their 2008 full length via Run For Cover Records in the near future, and I can only hope that it is supplemented by some extensive touring.