Tigercub : "the Perfume of Decay"

 

This trio from England plays a glammed out style of rock that feels like a darker , more androgynous take on what Muse does. This is displayed on the title track opens the album. A trickle of angle guitar cascades of the groove, as the vocals coo over it all. They work more of tense groove rather than feeling the need to glitter bomb everything with grandiose choruses. The chorus are highly melodic and hooky enough draw you in. The bass player favors off holding the songs down with a similar fuzzed out progression. The lyrics ponder broader abstractions . I would not call their playing aggressive but it does have drive. They occupy the forgotten middle ground of rock music. 

Led Zeppelin is a subtle influence in how they ride grooves, which is more effective than what a band like Greta Van Fleet does. You can also hear some Queens of the Stoneage in the way the vocals are uttered in a detached drugged out fashion. They switch things into a taunt syncopation for 'Swoon" that flirts with hard rock while being more atmospheric.  The arrangements are interesting as they are gradually built upon, while the guitar does weirdness over the collision of bass and drums. They clearly what a formula to what they are doing as even the variations begin to carry similar cadences that causes 'the Dark Below" to feel like, a continuation of the previous song. 

They work off of what bands in the late 90s did and dress it up in a shiny coat of OxyContin. "Your My Dopamine" is dynamic and well done, but finds the sonic colors they use to be much like ones we have heard earlier in the album. "We're A Long Time Gone" changes things up with more of an Elliot Smith vibe. The continue to add the colors on "It Hurts When Your Around" that goes from a Brit pop introspection to building into a heavier chorus. The vocals always stick to their croon and belt balls out to convey anger. When screaming does occur it is obscured in the mix behind a wall of overdriven patches. They end the album with a dreamy ballad. I will give this album a 9 because of the often uniform formula to their sound, but this is good stuff and occupies a space between Queens of the Stoneage and Muse, that fans of both will appreciate, while doing their own thing.