Spring Tigers

"Happy Anthem Pop. Perhaps my favorite genre. Certainly the one that got me through grad school. And one I’m not hesitant at all to include Spring Tigers in. A little louder than I’m From Barcelona but quirkier than The Polyphonic Spree, Spring Tigers are exactly what I’m gonna need to get through the long, bleak Cleveland winter that the weather recently has started to foreshadow. For whatever reason, this record sorta reminds me of that Butch Walker release a couple years back, though less artificial. I guess that’s what you get from Athens these days – folks who can write upbeat pop songs and still play a solid electric guitar, with a dash of gizmodgery thrown in for good measure.

While lead man Kris Barratt’s British inflection is more obvious (see “Car Song”) some times than others, he’s always on his game and the band that plays with him plays capably and loudly enough to keep you thinking of it as a group effort and not something akin to the Frontman and Back-up Band model. Despite lyrics like “Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” the band keeps thing live enough to deaden any notion that Spring Tigers might be a novelty. Instead, they are a real rock band with a penchant for the theatrical and goof-ball sound props. Besides, I love me a rock band with straight keyboard action.

Spring Tigers will be released on October 20 by Bright Antenna. Until then, readers making their homes in the old confederacy can catch the band live as they play a series of dates up and down the southeast coastal corridor (and a stint at CMJ in New York)." - citizendick.org

A short disc...perhaps way too short...because it leaves the listener wanting more. The guys in Spring Tigers have a bright upbeat catchy pop sound with driving rhythms and infectious melodies. Only six songs here...but they immediately capture these guys' sound and spirit. This will definitely whet everyones' appetites for the band's next full-length. Catchy underground poppers include "Car Song," "Beep Beep," and "Stripmalls in the Sun." Effervescent and heady pop with a difference. (Rating: 5+)

- www.lmnop.com

Lyrically, Athens’ Spring Tigers have claws. Throughout its debut “mini-LP,” the band explores matters more deeply than its almost manic sound would suggest, delving into themes like frustration, self-loathing and disillusionment with a humorous twist. “Stripmalls in the Sun,” for example, describes a shallow world that’s pretty, but not truly beautiful, perhaps drawing a parallel to the seriousness lurking just beneath these songs’ saccharine, dance-inducing post-pop surfaces.

But that’s where the edginess ends. For the anglophile in all of us, Spring Tigers offer myriad joys. From (actually British) vocalist Kris Barratt’s obvious accent to lines like “Don’t get your knickers in a twist” (“Hyboria”) to the very ring of Stephen James’ soaring synth parts and the heartbeat of Chase Prince’s disco drumming, it’s a Britpop invasion all over again. Though they’ve paid decent homage to a whole genre on this debut, Spring Tigers have the obvious talent to grow into a different, more dangerous beast. - flagpole.com