Jackpot, Tiger’s self-titled sophomore album is two years in the making. It features 12 tracks and runs a total time of 35:40. Released May 13th, the album opens with a crisp drum line quickly followed by catchy vocals talking of love. After, we hear a more aggressive love song, “Hey, Remora!”, in which we are told of a love to be as according to the band’s co-founder Eryck Tait. This track features my favorite line of the album “I’m just gonna party til my gills turn f---ing teal.”
We then delve into the lows of the album and get a taste of the female vocals resulting in a She & Him Tegan and Sara sound. “Alone with you” is one of the darker songs, touching on the black market and the singers boredom with, yet need for certain unnamed drugs. It carries a sort of Artic Monkeys covers Radiohead’s Creep feel. Continuing with the less than optimistic pattern, we return our focus to the female vocals of co-founder Claire McGinley for a calm cry for help with “Please Protect Me”. I found this song, while nice on the ears and calming, almost like a lullaby and a deviation from the rest of the album.
We get a taste of the group’s punk influence from “Want To, Want To” that features fast drums and confident guitars. The words are harder to understand, but the return to an upbeat tempo makes this song the high of the album. “Easy” seems like Jackpot, Tiger’s experimentation with Ska and continues the uplifting vibe with talk of a utopia without deadlines or desperation. The song is followed by the last upbeat track on the album, “Pistol Girl”, which reminds me of early Ok Go.
All in all, the album, understandably, sounds like that of a band still looking for their sound. To reiterate my point, it ends with a trancy Vampire Weekend like song “Float Away”, while having short vocal-less tracks reminiscent of The Eels like “Shortbread Cookie”, and She & Him type songs like “Cool Country “ and “Not Crazy” among others, on the album. While this is the bands sophomore album, its predecessor was made in only three days, so we can think of this album as a freshman album that took a gap year abroad. I can’t wait to hear these guys when they find their sound.