Kissing Tigers

"Retro dance-pop / synth-punk served with a dose of biting melody" - DOA

Kissing Tigers blasted on to the Bottom of the Hill stage with a flurry of noise rock, synth anthems. Co-frontman David McKay‘s railed around the stage howling into the mic over the pounding of Dan Harshman’s drumming. Jim Weir’s bratty scowl gave the band instant hipster cred, which they backed up with their blend of noisy new wave. These Santa Barbarans managed to accomplish the rare feat of getting the crowd to dance, let alone pay attention to the opening band during their short set. - Mesh

Paired with powerful keyboards, reminiscent of '80s pop, Kissing Tigers could quite easily find themselves on some teen angst movie soundtrack. The guitar is heavy enough, though, and with plenty of crazy background noises (including dramatic screaming), Kissing Tigers doesn't pigeonhole themselves into strictly angst movie music, instead managing to be fashionable, cute, skillful, and pleasantly obnoxious. - Portland Mercury

Undeniable keyboard hooks and taut art-punk guitar under delerious call-and-response hipster howls. A smartypants punk-rock dance party highly recommended for fans of The Faint & Hot Hot Heat. They put the 'new' back into 'new wave' and 'New Order.' - Insound

Kissing Tiger are hip and driving electro pop that shines like some spark plug punk; smoother than Hot Hot Heat, but carrying a similar weight. This band seems to be leaning towards more of a Psychedelic Furs vibe than a Dexy¹s Midnight Runners groove. The vocals are tight and high, throwing around some whining John Lydon references, and while the guitars and drums definitely rock out in that post ¹90s Faint tied freak out that the kids love, it¹s the keyboards that really get this band going. It isn¹t going for that electro thing as much as it is finding a new way to combine the sounds of that faded genre with the energy and dynamics of bands like the Jealous Sound and maybe the pop smarts of Imperial Teen. - The Big Takeover

For the indie purists out there, there's the Trebuchet EP. Robert Smith and The Cure might have come up with something like this if Robert Smith wasn't so damn miserable all the time. "Notification Of First Adds" has sound of the 80s with just enough whining to keep things from getting too poppy.

- Blueprint

Youthful energy, synthetic '80s-style keyboard hooks, and traditional punk roots make the first taste of Santa Barbara's own Kissing Tigers oh so sweet. Raw vocals, cutthroat power-chord guitar licks, and mach-speed drumming mix surprisingly well with overproduced keyboards, resulting in a sound reminiscent of Canadian band Hot Hot Heat on steroids. - Santa Barbara Independent