 | Tracklist:
1. Buildings & Mountains
2. Golden Sand
3. Feelin' the Future
4. Weatherbeaten
5. Air Guitar
6. The Nerve
7. Contortionists
8. Fight Song
9. Made Concrete
10. Give Arm to Its Socket
11. Stranger to the Eyes of a Man-Child
12. Cast On, Cast Off
Release Date: 2008 | |
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On 3 Lists
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| Summary: One of the previous decade’s lost indie gems. |
Considering the way that modern listeners eat up accessible, all-purpose indie-pop, it comes as a bit of a surprise that The Republic Tigers aren’t more of a household name. After all, their Midlake-meets-The Shins demeanor provides them with the framework and versatility to craft both memorable song structures and killer tunes whilst frequently fusing the two traits together immaculately. The band’s ability to come off as resoundingly joyful yet poignant and resolute is a trait that makes them stand out amongst their peers. However, it is their nearly flawless songwriting that catapults their overlooked debut, Keep Color, to rare and unexpected heights.
The opening track ‘Buildings & Mountains’ is an appropriate lead off because it embodies all of Keep Color’s strengths. Its verses carry an air of mystery, and they build just slowly enough to maximize anticipation. The chorus comes crashing in a little after the one minute mark, revealing The Republic Tigers’ pop tendencies. Complete with thoughtful but inviting vocals, foreign sounding hums, and an impossibly catchy hook, the song is an embarrassment of riches that sends the listener off on a frenzied journey through the remaining eleven tracks. The magic is not lost henceforth, with the urgent, electronic-powered ‘Golden Sand’, the MGMT-styled chorus of ‘Feelin The Future’, the subtly uplifting ‘Weatherbeaten’, and the full-sounding acoustics of ‘Air Guitar.’ Other clear highlights include the bouncy, up-tempo ‘Fight Song’ and the incredibly atmospheric ‘Stranger to the Eyes of a Child-Man’, both of which uphold Keep Color’s keen tune sense despite what is otherwise primarily alt-rock/indie based instrumentation.
Another area in which the record succeeds is its consistency. Although it has been said before, it rings especially true here: there is not a single weak song on the album. Every song delivers an ideal blend of indie, folk, psychedelia, and pop along with rhythmic acoustic guitars, swelling synthesizers, and melodic vocals. Combined with multiple tempo changes and unpredictable twists and turns, Keep Color is one of those rare albums that is completely captivating for every minute of its duration. When the album slows down, it is thoughtful and brooding. When it speeds up, it is enthralling and memorable. With The Republic Tigers, it seems that pace is irrelevant because no matter how they deliver their material, you can rest assured that they will execute their performance at the highest level.
If there is a complaint to be made with Keep Color, it is probably that there is a sense of familiarity throughout. However, it never crosses the threshold into “too familiar”, seeing as The Republic Tigers are able to put their own unique spin on everything they do. From start to finish, this is one of the most immediately satisfying albums you will likely ever hear, and even though it has flown below the radar for the better part of the past three years, now is as good of a time as any to immerse yourself in its captivating simplicity.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 4
Write-up is pretty short, but it needed a review. Here are some of the key tracks, for those interested:
Buildings & Mountains
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNlwkFayloM
Golden Sand/Feelin' The Future
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq_TyM5tudc
Weatherbeaten/Air Guitar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2GAdI36mY8
Digging: mewithoutYou - Ten Stories Digging: mewithoutYou - Ten Stories | | |
WHAT
Digging: Simian Mobile Disco - Unpatterns Digging: Simian Mobile Disco - Unpatterns
| | | Album Rating: 4
what?
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if your recced by reviewer are actually relevant i could see me loving this. although hey midlake's best album is van occupanther
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This finally got a review. Thank god.
Digging: The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead Digging: The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
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oh this is that band that leaked those fake brand new demos right cool cool
Digging: Spraynard - Funtitled Digging: Spraynard - Funtitled
| | | Album Rating: 4
@klappy: oh ok at first I thought I did something horribly wrong...and yes, I would say the recs are relevant. the vocals are similar to that of midlake's (from the perspective of someone who has had limited experience with them, however; there are a lot of Shins similarities that I don't think i need to explain, esp. in songs like Air Guitar and Made Concrete, MGMT comes up a few times esp. Feelin' the Future, and the Killers just cuz overall they sound kinda similar like 30% of the time
@Cris: Yeah I have been putting this off for too long. This is still shorter than I wanted it to be, but I kind of lost motivation midway through and cut it off halfway between a soundoff and a full review
@ifght: no silly. that's the republic of wolves, which stemmed from the folk band tigers on trains. THIS is the republic tigers! it's not hard! ; )
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Played the first track and loved it. Nice review, short and sweet.
Did TRoW actually leak those tracks or were they just mislabeled on youtube or something? Love both of those bands so it makes sense that their namesake composite would be decent too.
Digging: Mae - The Everglow Digging: Mae - The Everglow
| | | Album Rating: 4
Glad you liked the song, IMO it's the most immediately catchy. But check out the whole album if you can, it is well worth the time. Also glad you liked the review, I'm tired and I have a head cold so I wasn't sure if what I was thinking was translating onto my computer screen very well.
I love how the name is a mix of those two bands as well. Even though it is irrelevant to everything haha
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will be getting this then
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oh christ 2008 is last decade now
Digging: Hop Along - Get Disowned Digging: Hop Along - Get Disowned
| | | Album Rating: 4
klappy there are links in my first post if you want to get a taste
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I remember enjoying it, might be time for a revisit.
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I always get the whole Republic of Tigers/ Republic of Wolves/ Tigers on Trains thing all confused. Never listened to these guys. They're good on first listen.
Digging: fun. - Some Nights Digging: fun. - Some Nights
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i got buildings and mountains as like a free itunes single, it was awful
Digging: Spacemen 3 - The Perfect Prescription
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loving this so far
Digging: Jack White - Blunderbuss Digging: Jack White - Blunderbuss
| | | Album Rating: 4
I think it makes an excellent first impression, I remember thinking it could be a classic for the first month or so. But after a while its appeal slightly wears off...still great though, even then.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
daaaaaaaang you actually reviewed it! thanks sowing :3
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Man, by 'last decade' I was still thinking the 1990s. Anyways awesome review and I really like the opening track (and hear the Shins influence)
Digging: Imagine Dragons - It's Time Digging: Imagine Dragons - It's Time | | | Album Rating: 4
yw kris, even before you shouted me this was always something I wanted to review
xtoxin, we seem to share a decent amount of taste in bands so i think if you checked out the rest of this, you'd love it
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