“We’re going to get bigger than the national debt,” claims Duncan Barrett, lead singer of Tigercats, as the east London band’s debut album draws to a close. Given the response they have received to date, you wouldn’t bet your tax-deductible Sterling against it.
Tigercats are hardly your identikit Shoreditch-chic act – it is obvious from “Isle of Dogs” that the five-piece simply love playing music. That’s not to say it is all happy, beaming smiles and bouncing around. This album is a grown up affair infused with youthful exuberance for which the words ‘infectious’ and ‘catchy’ are just as apt as, say, ‘considered’ and ‘wry’.
Opener “Coffin For The Isle of Dogs” aims a broadside at the yuppies of Canary Wharf , an isolated and privately policed pocket of wealth in one of London’s poorer areas. Though “Full Moon Reggae Party” and “Easter Island” ring out like the big smoke’s answer to Vampire Weekend most of the album is far more in Hefner territory – upbeat yet melancholic, cynical but tastefully so.
Those familiar with the band’s early EPs will note the emergence of female harmonies throughout and lead vocals on final track “Jonny“. These come courtesy of keyboardist Laura, the final high-caliber piece of the Tigercats jigsaw.
With its multiple tongue-in-cheek mentions of east London’s most arty hotspots, ‘Isle of Dogs‘ is brilliant. Lo-fi production from Simon Trought, Death in Vegas’s Ian Button, and the band’s bassist Giles Barrett, lend an air of authenticity to the debut.
This is indie pop the way it is meant to be – with snaps, crackles and all.
TRACKS:
Tigercats – Full Moon Reggae Party by Tigercats
