Edgar Allan Poe was an American pioneer of defective fiction poetry, as well as American Romantics, always carrying a twist. The stories of Poe’s life are very controversial, and most aspects still remain a mystery. One of his more overlooked poems,
Annabel Lee, tells of his dead wife, his true love, and how he misses her presence, in his heart and in his mind. Poe’s macabre settings and descriptions went on to interest writers ranging from the late 1800’s to present day. Taking the element of love and word by word, altering it to a great spill of desperation and insanity has become a work of art; to writers, musicians, and every state of mind belonging to any human being today.
San Francisco three-piece Tiger Army have for years, been compelled and entranced by the literature of Poe’s short stories and poetry. Nick 13, constant leader of the band from 1995, to present day, has since been fond of creating the essence of the night and romance into Tiger Army’s music, while maintaining spunk of aggressive elements that never fail to deliver. The band released their self-titled debut album in 1999 and gained minor world-wide popularity. In 2001, the band released the next chapter of what would become a collection of pure psychobilly bliss; with the occasional grimy lore.
Tiger Army II: Power of Moonlite respectively wins the title for the band’s heaviest work, as well as the album that really shows off the band’s musicianship, and front-man Nick 13’s craft. The album is a dark setting compelled with an outfit of romance, tainted relationships, and the cruelness of the night. It is nicely laced with the elements of American rockabilly. The standup bass, and Nick’s ascending guitar licks are all very noticeable for a large portion of the album. As well as using the eerie Beatles-day effects; backwards, scrambled tape negatives, distorted feedback, distant howling, the album is packed with surprises, and it lies among well-built introductions and the peaks of most of the scores on here. The album opens with the band’s second prelude; a misleading dose of over-dubbed instrumentation, laced with the band’s famous chant: “Tiger Army never dies!”. The album’s prelude is always fused together with the first actual track on it, and it presents it well, as well as prepares you for the constant elements that the rest might bring.
The ear-catching bass-line opening
Annabel Lee is a perfect example of how independent each of the musicians can work, as well as working together to keep rhythm at the same time. The song works as a sequel to Poe’s poem, and is the most driven on the album, if anything. The lyrics on the album reflect well upon the topic that is selected. No dragged lines, or going off-topic. Some of it can be labeled as beautiful in some people’s eyes, and the way the message of the songs fuse with the instrumentation always has been.
Oh Annabel Lee, stop haunting my dreams.
Yours is the face that I see in the dark, in the dark.
Into the darkness,
Farther, my heart slips.
Into the darkness,
Into the sea.-
Annabel Lee
Nick 13 is the only constant band member of the band, as the bass and drums positions always shift respectively depending on what album or tour approaches, or what band member gets hurt. Nick is the writer of well over ninety percent of the work on here, and you’d see how well it works out every time. Nick carries bucket-loads of simple to complex riffs that usually fuel tracks from beginning to end, while providing his famous whined vocals; vocals that call the attention of the listener to the clear lyrics being projected, while also drawing attention to the music itself. It can easily be said that the line-up on Tiger Army II is the most talented yet, and when it calls for originality, as well as solid material, the line-up is already a step ahead. Ex- AFI bassist Geoff Kresge serves this album well. His quick fingering and speed through messes of clean lines is impressive, and he himself writes as well. In
Cupid’s Victim the narrator falls in love, and describes the agony and want for a woman, as well as how good it can be to feel this way. Without being corny, of course, Geoff and drummer London May pound away to produce one of the best sounds off the album.
Just like an arrow through my heart
A feeling so strong
A scarlet fever burns my soul
From this moment on-
Cupid’s Victim
London May works well behind the set as well. As Nick writes most of his work, the man shows off a great deal of experience, ranging from the descending fills of the compelled prelude, to the eye-catching introductory beat of
Valley of Dreams. Some tracks on the album strike was a little unnecessary at times, but that’s all the part of variety and comparisons of the music. F.T.W, respectively abbreviated for “Fuck The World”, is a series of riffage, and the repeated chant. It sounds too simple, and although an okay track, it has no solid significance, while tracks like
In The Orchard show some roots along the lines of earlier American folk. The variety on this isn’t immense, but it works.
Furthermore, the band’s second attempt at the stories of corrupted love and journey through the dark is more than acceptable. I find it hard to label the band as one that works with the actual “emotional” outlet, as a lot of the music itself shows no trace of this at all, and leave vocals to do the work. Davey Havok of AFI joins the band for two tracks on this, and it’s a nice extra when seeking more vocals than just Nick’s. The bottom line is that their debut is almost unbreakable. It was way too packed with originality and raw variables that this one simply can’t defeat. But they loyally continued their work, and brought the same building blocks as the last album again to take everything to a new level. The album is darker though, and reflects around anguish and delirium a lot more than before. Never have I heard any music depict love and romance as something so beautiful, yet; presenting it into such circumstantial and disorderly servings. Enjoy.
Tiger Army II: Power Of Moonlite:
Nick 13- Vocals, Guitar
Geoff Kresge- Bass, Vocals
London May- Drums
Guest-Starring:
Davey Havok: Annabel Lee, Under Saturn’s Shadow
Stand Out Tracks:
Prelude- Call of the Ghost Tigers/Towards Destiny
Cupid’s Victim
Valley of Dreams
Annabel Lee
Midnight Romp
4/5
