The garage-rock revival has dallied in the footsteps of many past heroes: The Velvets — The Strokes; Joy Division — Interpol; The Animals, Led Zeppelin — The White Stripes. Now NYC’s Tiger Mountain have filled up their pockets with handfuls of Stones. They got the dual riffing guitars always playing off one another and crucially, they got that sense of swagger in every tune. Analog Heads Gone French is a rare record that, while offering no eye-opening insights, impresses at every step. The songs, despite adhering to fairly strict structures, feel loose thanks to the varied vocal deliveries courtesy of the two guitarists Tyler and Mike. Simply, Tiger Mountain do rock ‘n’roll really well, starting with the cool-guy raspy vocal, reminiscent of Paul Westerberg’s boozier moments, and all the way down to a super tight rhythm section. It is hard to separate individual tracks since the album flows really smoothly and feels like a very well rehearsed live set. The first single “Song #2” is a tale of burning out, whose catchiness creeps up on you with repeated listens. The only thing this album misses is a good country rocker to listen to when it’s four in the morning and you’re drinking alone after your partners-in-crime crash. Listening to this record makes one simply want to see these guys play but until the opportunity comes, it makes one want to go and, in the words of my favorite track on the record, “get your swerve on.”
Archived article by Maxim Pozdorovkin