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The Rice Thresher
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Robert Reichle A quick look at the track listing for Tiger Army's self-titled debut is telling: "Prelude: Nightfall," "Nocturnal," "Moonlite Dreams," "WereCat," "Last Night" _ notice the "creatures of the night" motif yet? The theme is fitting for a psychobilly band that aims to tear into your ears like a blood-hungry predator under the full moon and thrash you around in its forest lair until you beg for mercy. OK, so maybe that description, though fitting at Halloween, is a little inaccurate. Tiger Army might want to tear its listeners in half like a Siberian on the prowl, but they fall a little short. And although Tiger Army definitely leans toward the "psycho" end of "psychobilly," there's more to the story than that. Tiger Army's sound (in the band's own words, "American Psychobilly") combines elements of punk, hardcore and surf rock with the rockabilly sound of a thick upright bass and drums that sound like a cattle stampede. In theory it's a fun, fast and frenetic recipe, but the production on the album (handled by Nick 13, the band's vocalist and guitarist) leaves the songs a little flat, and they tend to sound the same. "Nocturnal," "Fog Surrounds" and "Moonlite Dreams" are all quick-moving drag races of songs with heavy punk influences. On the more traditional rockabilly side, "Devil Girl" and "Twenty Flight Rock" have Elvis-style vocals, rock 'n' roll guitar solos and a more '50s-ish beat. After the album flew by me upon first listening (it's only 32 minutes long, with 13 tracks), I was hungry for more songs in the traditional vein, since these two songs are among the album's best. Tiger Army sounds a little one-dimensional at times, but the few true rockabilly tracks make up for its flatness and provide a nice outlet for those looking to thrash to something other than the usual punk fare. - Robert Reichle
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