Hailing from the midwest and the northwest, Mighty Tiger is an indie pop band with a vintage feel. Their debut full length album, Western Front (Paper Garden) set to be released this March, is one that your collection cannot miss.

The album starts off strong with in my opinion, the best track “Voyeur Heaven” starting off with driving synths that lead into catchy guitar riffs and bouncy very They Might Be Giants – style vocals. Western Front continues into a more folkier sound with “Rook to the King” and “33 1/2″ both having deep rooted southern influenced melodies and impressive percussion. “33 1/2″ also features piano that takes precedence over the rest of the instruments. “Chibi Girl” continues the folk vibe with banjo picking and bird tweets in the background behind very Sufjan ethereal vocals.

Wit and lyricism are a main point for Mighty Tiger. This is most exemplified through “Hands in Holy Water” with snarky lyrics such as “Let’s all buy organic and never, ever shop at Walmart. Plant ourselves a hickory garden in the yard and be pretty satisfied with our smarts,” followed by unsuspecting whistles.

Overall, Western Front is a solid, record, with unfortunately one exception. The seven minute track, “The Most American Thing in America.” Starting off with both male and female vocals the song starts slow with monotonous drums and guitars for about half three quarters of the song. It then out of nowhere transforms into an upbeat head bobber with singable “la duh dahs” out of nowhere, it then transforms again to a totally different more jazzy song with crescendos of brasses for the remainder of the 7 minutes. Each individual part of the song is great, however compiled together it overwhelming.

Mighty Tigers and their mish mosh of ecelectic folk-indie-vintage pop are definitely worth checking out. Western Front will be released on Paper Garden Records March 9, 2010 as well as a limited edition vinyl 7″  that will include a B-side remix by Seattle band, Big Spiders Black. You can pre-order the vinyl HERE

To supplement your listening pleasures, be sure to check Mighty Tiger out on tour this spring and at this year’s SXSW!

Mighty Tiger on Tour!

Mar 6 @ The Triple Door  (album release party) – Seattle, WA **

Mar 12 @ The Doug Fir  - Portland, OR **

Mar 13 @ The Bouquet – Boise, ID **

Mar 14 @ Kilby Court  - Salt Lake City, UT **

Mar 15 @ Elliot Street Collective  - Denver, CO **

Mar 16 @ Low Spirits  - Albuquerque, NM **

Mar 18 @ The Stafford Main St  - Bryan/College Station, TX **

Mar 19 @ SXSW – Austin, TX

Mar 20 @ SXSW [Paper Garden Records/Jingle Punks day party (Howl Interiors Studio] – Austin, TX

Mar 21 @ SXSW – Austin, TX

Mar 22 @ The Percolator – El Paso, TX

Mar 23 @ Red Room – Tucson, AZ

Mar 24 @ (TBD) – Phoenix, AZ

Mar 25 @ Silverlake Lounge  - Los Angeles, CA **

** with Grand Hallway

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Album Review