Tiger Army - 'Music From Regions Beyond' (Hellcat) Released 04/06/07

Nick 13, lead singer and guitarist of Tiger Army is rightly very proud of their new album Music from regions beyond.  He toldGigwise recently: "Sonically, we wanted to make the best-sounding record of our career so far -- we succeeded, with the help of producer Jerry Finn. Creatively, I wanted to make a musically diverse record that stayed true to the music we've made in the past while pushing forward into new territory at the same time. I wanted each song to be a little different, to take the listener on a journey that covered everything from fast and aggressive to slow and melancholy, stopping at many points in between. I'm very happy to say that I think we did that too."

The first Tiger Army album not to be self-produced, 'Music From Regions Beyond' is indeed an evolution and whilst the sound clearly has its roots in Tiger Army of old, there is a clear progression with this album, obviously due to the experimentation Nick 13 describes. Pigeon-holed as Rockabilly or Psychobilly, Tiger Army’s sound is a mix of 1950’s rock and roll and 1980’s dark pop and this album doesn’t stray too far from that, but rather just refines it.  There are, however, moments of  “radio-friendly” pop that may leave the numerous fans with Tiger Army’s logo “Tiger Army Never Die” permanently inked on their skins, wondering whether too much slick production can be a bad thing.  With legendary producer Jerry Finn (Tool, AFI) at the helm, this record couldn’t help but be impressive (and it is) but part of Tiger Army’s charm was their gritty passion and with Music from regions beyond their raw edge has been lost with this mainstream leaning.  Perhaps the change is subtle enough to just be described as maturation and is simply due to Nick 13 mastering his craft – you decide.

A veritable patchwork of an album, it could be accused of being disjointed, however the fact that each song is strong enough to stand alone is testament to Nick 13’s phenomenal song-writing and the intense lush richness of his voice. ‘As The Cold Rain Falls’ is reminiscent of the ‘80’s pop new wave movement whereas ‘Where the moss slowly grows’  hints more than a little at Nick 13’s country music influences. ‘Afterworld’ provides the obligatory Davey Havok (AFI) guest vocal appearance that occurs on every Tiger Army album.  The bass, provided by Jeff Roffredo is outstanding and James Meza’s skin-bashing provides crash hits and delicate fills.

Krist Novoselic once said “Nivarna’s blend of pop-punk was nothing new” and here Tiger Army’s pop-punk certainly isn’t reinventing the wheel, but despite this and the slightly confusing “journey” of styles on one record, this is a superb album. It worms its way under your skin and once it’s there, it’s staying.