Tigers Jaw – “Charmer” [Album Review]

Tigers Jaw lose three-fifths of their band and the line, “I started this fire and I watched it burn to the ground,” – whether clairvoyant or reactionary – becomes heavy with meaning. Recording as a 5 piece, Tigers Jaw deliver their newest full-length Charmer before the group limps on as a duo; making it easy to see this record as a swansong for the Pennsylvanian band.

With vocalist Adam Micilwee’s departure, he takes center stage on this record with laments that seem soaked in dissatisfaction. Whether an amicable split or not, Micilwee’s musings are given extra weight as he howls on the excellent “Slow Come On”, asking “why am I so mean?”. His narratives on this record question himself and the hollow people he turns to for value: “they’re the people that turn me on… I don’t even care how mean they are.”

While tracks like “Frame You,” “Nervous Kids,” and “Distress Signal” – all fronted by Ben Walsh – show Tigers Jaw’s typically buoyant sense of melody, it is Micilwee’s final spot on the album’s melancholic closer “What Would You Do?” that leaves Charmer’s strongest mark. The languid guitar is twisted and pained, while brooding lines like “I’ll touch you and you’ll know I’m really bored” and “I don’t feel anything at all,” hang, draped throughout the song. It all comes together with refrains of “what would you do?” and as the album fades to close it seems that this promising young band may have missed their opportunity as their energies never came together as purposefully as many expected they could.

Track Listing:

01. Cool
02. Frame You
03. Hum
04. Charmer
05. Nervous Kids
06. I Envy Your Apathy
07. Slow Divide
08. Slow Come On
09. Soft Spoken
10. Teen Rocket
11. Distress Signal
12. What Would You Do

Run Time: 38:40
Release Date: June 03, 2014

Check out the song “Hum”