F O R T R E S S out July 27th on Modern Art Records/ILG
When I first heard the single “Gold Skull featuring Neon Indian” from Miniature Tigers’ sophomore album FORTRESS it was right about the time MGMT’s Congratulations was released and I thought, “now this is what MGMT’s sophomore album should have sounded like.” It opens with a catchy electronic melody, quickly joined by a slow and simple electronic drum beat. The hollow sound of the vocals and the experimental synthesized harmonies create an ethereal sound, sending the listener into a dream-like state.
While hopeful that the rest of the album would carry through with this electro pop, upon listening to the other tracks I was completely caught off guard. That’s not to say the rest of the album isn’t great, but none of the tracks quite matched up to the potential of the single. The feeling of this dream-like state carries through on the album FORTRESS, however, many of the other tracks lack the catchy-ness of “Gold Skull.” Many of the songs have a heavy Beatles-influence, slathering the tracks with surf-rock guitar
, but layered with a certain hauntedness. Not suprising since they recorded the album at Dreamland, a converted 19th century house deep in the woods of Upstate New York.
Overall, I really enjoyed the record. The single is definitely my favorite and a major stand-out track. However, if you pop the CD in your player, you won’t be disappointed.
(4/5)
Just so you know, “FORTRESS” is not Miniature Tigers’ debut album. In late 2008 they released the album “Tell It To The Volcano” and have also released two EPs (“Black Magic” and “White Magic”). Their previous stuff was much more pop-oriented than the new album (but features a similar lyrical style). “Gold Skull” is the biggest step in a different direction from their former musical style and is definitely not what I’d want a whole Miniature Tigers album to sound like. Don’t get me wrong, I do like the song, but a whole album of that style of music just wouldn’t feel like Miniature Tigers at all. You should also look for Alvin Band’s “Mantis Preying”. Alvin Band is the solo project of the drummer from Miniature Tiger and sounds very similar to Animal Collective (except every sound on “Mantis Preying”, besides the remastered songs from his previous album, is created using only his voice and the computer, no instruments at all).
Oops! Thanks for that correction. And I’m definitely interested in Mantis Preying so thanks for the tip!