Tigers Jaw

Gypsy [7-inch] (2011)

Chuck Cunningham

This two song 7" opens up with a quiet, calm song. "Gypsy" is a pretty standard Tigers Jaw song except all the rock 'n' roll energy has been sucked out with a vacuum. Alongside the calmness of the song, one will quickly notice that, though the song has a level of gloom to it, there is hardly any angst in the vocals. It is, overall, a low key but nice song. Depending on my mood, it could hit the spot completely or it could fall into the background. That isn't a jab, but this song is tailored to a certain mood. However, despite the peaceful nature of the song, it still has a few tricks up its sleeve: the harmonies work great, particularly on the infectious chorus of "Lightning strikes / Maybe once, maybe twice" and, after listening to the majority of the pleasant song, there is some nice guitar work to change things up at the end. It's a night-in kind of song and it seems to accomplish what it was intended to accomplish. It doesn't overwhelm the listener, but it makes sure to keep things just interesting enough to hold their attention.

While I do enjoy "Gypsy," the real treat on this release is "Jimmy Piersall (Alternate Version)." For those paying attention, the non-alternate version was on Tiger Jaws' split with the Sidekicks, however that parenthetical phrase in the title this time around doesn't really convey what one is getting into when listening to this song. Whereas the original was a bit of a rock (indie rock, but rock nonetheless) song, this one's instrumentation is a combination of acoustic guitar and piano. The sound complements "Gypsy" nicely for a pair of songs that are quite soothing. The other noticeable difference about this version is Brianna Collins taking lead vocals. She holds her own quite well, conveying the emotions and vulnerability of the lyrics with vocals that match the energy of the music.Yes, it is the same song being played, but with different instruments and a different singer, "alternate" hardly describes it.

Though I must confess my affinity to mellow music, I think this may be my favorite thing Tigers Jaw has yet to release. Decide for yourself, take a gander.