Tigercub have been doing the rounds for quite some time now and unsurprisingly, they’ve been stupidly busy since their second album was released a couple of years back. Now, they’re here with their delightfully oxymoronically titled third album, The Perfume of Decay.
Darker, moodier, more mature, and full of extremes and polar opposites, it makes for one of the most dynamic and interesting albums you’ll hear this year. Taking the best of their previous two records as well as the full-on experiences which followed As Blues as Indigo, everything has been poured into this album to make it their best yet. Once the brief intro of “Dirge”, with its atmospheric droning builds, is out of the way, the gloves are off. It essentially allows you to sit down and prepare as the title track kicks into life. Jamie Hall’s vocals are just as powerful in its whispers as they are in the full-blooded roars. Combined with his fuzz-laden guitars and Jimi Wheelwright’s bass line and this is Tigercub upping the ante, champing at the bit and refusing to let up.
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Whilst sonically, they may be vastly different, there’s a similar vigour found in early Slipknot albums. Despite literally being a third of their complement, there’s a similar approach to the wall of sound but rather than powered by the rage of youth, this is far more deliberate and measured, albeit just as cathartic. “Show Me My Maker” has an oppressive opening – the kind that when Hall’s vocals finally arrive, you let a out a breath you didn’t realise you were holding. Unsurprisingly nihilistic, the calmer moments allow the aggressive elements to hit all that harder as guitars snarl and drums stomp in defiance. “You’re My Dopamine” has a possessive and brooding tone to it in moments but when it opens up, it sounds far more sinister and dangerous.
However, even on the cleaner and “pretty” moments like “We’re a Long Time Gone” and closer “Help Me I’m Dreaming”, the dreamy shoegaze tones are hypnotic. Revisiting death as found on “Show Me My Maker”, it comes from a more grown-up place and far more accepting without veering into cynicism. It’s poetic in its lyrics, holding far more weight as they hang on acoustic licks which mingles with keys, the bright yet sombre melody showing the contrast that the whole album is built on. The afore-mentioned closing track revisits the keys but with far more distorted vocals, there’s a splash of darkness to it, the ambience disconcerting and reflecting late night thoughts. It’s a gentle exit to an album which is relentless from start to finish.
Despite the trippy opening which could have come from a Queens of the Stone Age record, “Swoon” is manic and throws everything at the wall, almost like a stream of conscious. Its unpredictable, shifting moods on a knife edge as atmospheric soundscapes give way to blasts of guitar instantaneously rather than deftly segueing. It’s a feat repeated on “The Dark Below”. The driving bass fights against the scuzzy guitars while the refrain of the title violently steamrollers its way through to hit the dissonant post-chorus.
The bombast continues with “Until I Forget” which sounds like Muse from their heyday, Hall’s vocals reflecting Matt Bellamy’s more textured and nuanced moments and like a good Muse song, the track explodes at just the right moment. Elsewhere “Play My Favourite Song” channels Royal Blood and very much the most radio-friendly number on the album. Similarly, it’s the weakest, managing to toe the line between not bringing the rest of the album down for it but manages to serve the album as a whole.
The Perfume of Decay shows Tigercub at their most expansive. Even in the fleeting sombre moments, there’s an intensity and restlessness to them. But they’re also more sure-footed and controlled. It’s an album which could have sounded like it was trying to do too much, pulling from column A and column B but when you listen to the whole album, you can tell there was a vision to this. Imagine indie meeting dream pop before having a debauched night on the town with unadulterated fuzzy hard rock and you have this album. One which is now firmly in contention to be one of the best of the year.
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The Perfume of Decay is released on 2nd June
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Header image by Andreia Lamos
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