In the vein of Small Brown Bike, Planes Mistaken for Stars, and Leatherface, Houston, TX’s This Year’s Tiger play Pabst-chugging rock ‘n’ roll, the sort adored by thick-bearded bros from Gainesville to Riverside. As it stands, the band sounds at home on a label like No Idea, though their self-titled, self-released EP shows plenty of signs that This Year’s Tiger is looking to move beyond that cliché sing-a-long style of punk rock.
The band’s latest offering is 6 songs deep and, while the band rarely wavers from a tested and true formula of breakdowns, gang vocals, and hoarse-throated semi-screams, who cares? What the world needs now is a damn good rock ‘n’ roll song, and This Year’s Tiger has some pretty damn good rock songs on it.
“Your Face Has No Melody” showcases TYT’s signature sound and opens the EP perfectly. “A Bullet For You” has your cliché but oh-so-true, got-your-back-if-you-got-mine chorus found so often in This Year’s Tiger’s songs: “some things you never forget – I’d take a bullet for you then and I’d take a bullet for you now.” So true.
“Playing Matador” is slightly more agro than the rest of the EP; “Anchors” more Helmet than Hot Water Music; and one of Tiger’s best tracks, “Raise Your Glass”, is a poor man’s Foo Fighters jam. “Like Snakes” shows This Year’s Tiger’s true promise, as snakewinding seventies’ leads battle chunky post-punk and requisite gang vox.
This Year’s Tiger are the type of band you might see playing the next Food Not Bomb’s benefit in your local organic grocer’s parking lot and you’ll definitely see them at The Fest in Gainesville. Hardly original, This Year’s Tiger is nonetheless a great listen and a promising debut.
myspace: www.myspace.com/thisyearstiger
mp3: "A Bullet For You"
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