Mighty Tiger - Western Theater
Rating
RIYL
Dr. DogDeath Cab for Cutie
Army Navy
Release Date
03/09/2010
Label
Paper GardenTracklist
1. Voyeur Heaven2. Rook to King
3. 33 1/3
4. Signature Cup
5. Chibi Girl
6. The Most American Thing in America
7. Ecto Cooler
8. Wide Awake
9. Your Company
10. Hands in Holy Water
11. The Last Mountaineer
12. A Reason to Keep Breathing
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Ignoring the first 40 seconds of album opener “Voyeur Heaven”, in which the strangely placed synth-riff may cause an impatient listener to move along prematurely, Seattle quintuplet Mighty Tiger’s Western Theater offers a consistent batch of catchy 60s inspired pop rock in the vein of the more creative (read: drug inspired) elements of The Beatles and The Beach Boys. Fans of jangly indie pop bands like LA’s Army Navy or New Jersey’s jam-pop-punkers Steel Train may find comfort in the clean melodies and steady rhythms put forth by Mighty Tiger.
In fact, what impresses most on Western Theater is the careful construction of each track. The hook on “33/13” would make Lenon and McCartney proud. The same can be said for “Ecto Cooler,” though it’s doubtful that either Beatle ever called an ex-girlfriend a “bitch” in a song. The harmonies on the 7 minute long “The Most American Thing in America” are as tight as one could hope for. There are no obvious flaws in the creation of this record – the sound effects are apparent but not overbearing while the instrumentation is impressive without being showy.
Unfortunately, this “perfection” leaves little room for any sort of edge. Where Western Theater falters is exactly where bands like Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog shine the most – originality and character. For every killer hook and detailed instrumentation piece, a more impressive band might take the time to showcase a bit of personality with it. While songs like “Ecto Cooler” and the hipster bating “Hands in Holy Water” might put a contemporary time stamp on the band, they won’t show you anything you haven’t heard a few times before. Where this really comes through is on tracks like the album’s breathless closer “A Reason to Keep Breathing” or the ironically titled “Wide Awake.” Where a more creative band might’ve turned these low-tempo jams into ambient space rockers or acoustic-laden folk tracks, Mighty Tiger are seemingly ok with leaving them be middling tracks.
Listening to Western Theater is like digging into a bowl of really good vanilla ice-cream on a hot summer day. It’s creamy, cold, sweet, and delicious but as you get about halfway through the bowl, you start to wish that there were some sort of topping in there. Anything – some fruit, some hot fudge, even a couple of sprinkles - but instead you’re just left with this really good vanilla ice cream.
--Scott Barrett
Comments
San Jose, CA
Great review! I will check this out.
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