Tiger Saw - Sing! / 2005 Kimchee / 11 Tracks / http://www.tigersaw.com / http://www.kimcheerecords.com / Reviewed 29 August 2005
Tiger Saw starts out their Sing! album with a track that could easily be heavy-rotation on any of one-hundred different indie rock stations. The length of the track is perhaps the only negative that could possibly be chalked up against the early stages of the disc (something that both the aforementioned title track and �Singing With Ghosts� struggle with). Tiger Saw really begins to shine when tracks like the slightly country-infused �O, Dylan� come up on the queue. There are moments on this track where the dual-harmonies continually present on the disc (where lead singer Dylan Metrano works with Juliet Nelson) really come through to the listening base as something that transcends the mere shadowing role that Juliet�s voice tends to slip into.
However, �Sing!� again falls into a rut when the first half of the disc does nothing but continue the same sort of melodic, drone-rock that was put forth as the band�s premise even as early as the first strains of the title track. The light incorporation of sixties-pop arrangements during �For Adrian� makes the first derivation in style for Tiger Saw, and while the same paradigm is still dominant, this re-casting of the act�s sound is a blast of fresh air amidst a stuffy cellar. However much Tiger Saw try to hoist themselves alongside Vetiver and �Tender�-era Blur, the continued lack of innovation on this disc provides a crushing return to Earth.
Taking singularly, the tracks on �Sing� would be interesting background music, great as long as listeners do not give the tracks too much of a critical listen. When the tracks form a disc like �Sing!� is where Tiger Saw gets into trouble, and the only possible out regarding this problem has to come with the band incorporating a greater commitment to experimentation and a larger array of sounds on-disc. There is some hope in the piano-heavy �The Tiger & the Tailor�, but the eensy amount of jazz-style arrangement cannot do much to change the disc�s fortunes. Perhaps a return to their roots would help Tiger Saw shake off the complacent sounds that are such a major part of �Sing!�; the band is there musically (and in the way of cohesive arrangements),but this disc shows a band without a spark to drive them to greener pastures. Perhaps a live album would be what the doctor prescribed; to have minor mistakes and differing arrangements would allow a greater tie to the listening base.
Top Tracks: The Sea, For Molly
Rating. 4.3/10