Gray Waves
Twin Tigers: Forrest Hall (Guitarist), Aimee Morris (Bassist), Matthew Rain (Guitarist/Vocalist), Doug Crump (Drummer)
Do you miss the good ol’ days of di
storted alternative rock when bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement were at their peak popularity? Well reminisce no more, because the Twin Tigers are here. Just mix those chaotically catchy tunes of old school alt rock with the dreamy, atmospheric shoegazing sounds of My Bloody Valentine and you probably have a pretty good idea of what kind of band we’re talking about here.
Even though the Twin Tigers clearly have similarities to bands of the past, they have definitely carved out a distinctive, new sound of their own as heard in the recently released Gray Waves, which is their first full-length album. And like any good album, it starts off with an incredible track. “Passive Idol” begins with the distinctively slow, ambient buzz of distorted guitars. Suddenly, there is drastic shift in vibe from that shoegazing kind of sway to a pounding, crunching number that will get your head banging. Back and forth this song constantly flows from the slower, quieter sections into the contrasting hard rocking moments and vice versa. This dynamic keeps “Passive Idol” lively and interesting. And throughout the track, you often have that psychedelic hum of distorted, shoegazing guitars in the background. You basically get all of the best elements of Gray Waves compacted into one introductory song that lets you know you’re in for one hell of a ride.
One of the things that made bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement stand out in the first place was their willingness to embrace the imperfections, noise, and just plain chaos of music. The Twin Tigers certainly seem to embrace this idea, especially in songs such as “Sexless Love.” From beginning to end, the track is almost a non-stop, blare of grinding and screaming guitars that exemplifies the beauty found in the bedlam of alternative rock. Not only that, but some of the choral breaks are noticeably off key, yet they’re off key enough where it works within the chaotic context of the song and ends up sounding perfect. If these vocals were on key, then they would probably sound completely wrong.
And it didn’t really occur to me until just a little while ago, but one of the tracks off of Gray Waves is the titular track from their EP Automatic. It’s understandable why they would want to reuse the song: it’s damn good! The strong riff that plays through the verses and a catchy chorus could keep this track looping on your MP3 player. And I don’t know how normal it is for crazy, wild alt rock to get stuck in your head, but this song just might. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the tracks from Gray Waves got lodged in your brain for after a few listens.
Basically, what I’m saying is that Twin Tigers did a great job with Gray Waves and they’re definitely a band to keep an eye on in the future. And if you’d like to see them in concert, they’ll be touring with Interpol and The Hold Steady over the Summer. I’ll be including tour dates at the very end of this post if you want to catch them.
Purchase Gray Waves by the Twin Tigers at Old Flame Records, iTunes, or Amazon.
Twin Tigers – Passive Idol
Twin Tigers – Sexless Love
Twin Tigers – Automatic
By the way, that EP of theirs I mentioned earlier, Automatic, is available digitally as a free download at Old Flame Records. You just have to sign up for a mailing list. You could also buy the EP for a buck at Amie Street if you feel like showing a bit of financial support.
Also be sure to listen to the Twin Tiger’s excellent live Lounge Acts performance at woxy.com.
And check them out on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook too.
Oh, and if the Twin Tigers suddenly start sounding like goth metal and you become confused, it’s probably because the last track of Gray Waves finished and iTunes moved on to Type O Negative. That’s what happened to me at least.
Tour Dates
May 22 – The Social – Orlando, FL
May 23 – The Social – Orlando, FL
May 25 – Live Wire Music Hall – Savannah, GA
May 26 – 40 Watt Club – Athens, GA
May 27 – Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
June 19 – Taste of Randolph Street Fest – Chicago, IL
June 21 – Water Street Music Hall – Rochester, NY
June 22 – Town Ballroom – Buffalo, NY
June 23 – Mr. Small’s Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA
June 25 – Crocodile Rock Cafe – Allentown, PA
June 28 – People’s Court – Des Moines, IA
July 1 – Bogart’s – Cincinnati, OH
July 2 – House of Blues Cleveland – Cleveland, OH
July 5 – Blue Note, Columbia, MO
July 8 – 40 Watt Club – Athens, GA
July 10 – The Music Farm – Charleston, SC
July 14 – Ram’s Head Live – Baltimore, MD
July 20 – Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel – Providence, RI
July 21 – Toad’s Place – New Haven, CT
July 23 – Northern Lights – Clifton Park, NY
July 24 – Chameleon – Lancaster, PA