The Breakdown
With a fast growing reputation as one of the bands to see, Teiger (pronounced “tiger”) have proven to be an enigma on the music scene. The London trio’s bewitching sound is unlike anything else around right now, bringing together alt rock anthems and delicate touches that provoke, attack and captivate.
Featuring the singles ‘Hydra’, ‘Come and Find Me’ and ‘The Law Of Diminishing Returns’, the bands debut album was recorded at Foel Studio (Porcupine Tree, Dresden Dolls, The Wildhearts), and mastered by David Castillo (Opeth, Katanonia).
The acoustic instrumental album opener, ‘The Crawl’, with its jungle drums and jangly melody leads us into next track ‘Sahara’ which is where we get to hear singer and guitarist Talie Rose Eigeland’s vocals for the first time. Vocals that sit on a knife edge of tension ready to explode at any moment and with enough bite and emotive punch to set fire to the tracks.
The minimalistic approach on tracks like ‘Come And Find Me’ sees the album have plenty of space to breathe and the mastery of Jon Steele on drums fills in the gaps giving each track some meat to feel sonically full. Something that ‘Slow Burning’ shows perfectly as Steele’s deploys his drumsticks to create hypnotic rolls on the verses before flipping into a driving force on the chorus. Complimenting the track and Eigeland’s guitar work in particular.
Sneering vocals and a nervous energy of ‘Splinter’ give a dark edge to the spiky rhythms and precise whipped vocals from Eigeland are even more impressive considering the guitar control she also demonstrates and will no doubt have to replicate live. The album is full of complicated sounding moments the snappy ‘Vendetta’ with its simple but clever riff and the stinging ‘Hydra’ that whips and snarls. This is not as simple an album as first thought, but intricate and well planned.
‘The Law Of Diminishing Returns’ is an album highlight, the epic brooding track that sees Steele excel himself as Eigeland deftly weaves some guitar magic perfecting the less is more approach. A rock masterpiece or a haunting seance it has it all and the band manages to be full on rock heavy yet keep things light with Phillip Elridge-Smith’s throbbing bass and Steele’s clatter delivering some well controlled noise.
From a pub jukebox piano start ‘Sunrise’ slips into a funky little number led by Elridge-Smith’s frantic bass. Eigeland then takes us on a jangly journey with dynamic stabs and wandering riffs that wouldn’t be out of place on some free form jazz records. The closing track ‘The Thinnest Wall’ feels like a culmination of what the album is all about. It grows and grows into a smouldering slow burner. Not content with keeping to a simple beat, Steele rolls, shakes and thuds his way through the track, this is the way to end an album.
With well crafted songs superbly mastered by David Castillo, Teiger’s debut album is a minimalistic masterpiece that shines bright with the bands electro-acoustic sound and inventive drumming. The tracks are laid bare allowing every note, every whisper and shout to be heard. It’s an album that is full of surprises twists and originality that keeps the listener hooked.
Check out the bands track Law Of Diminishing Returns, below:
Find out more via the bands Website or Facebook
Read our interview with the band here
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