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In a review of its self-titled album last year, we wondered what Tigers Jaw would sound like when the young band got a bit older. With the potential shown on “Tigers Jaw,” it comes as no surprise that the Scranton group has achieved a deeper, wider, more resonant approach to its music. What wasn’t expected, though, was Tigers Jaw getting there so soon.
On “Spirit Desire,” Tigers Jaw’s limited-run 7-inch vinyl EP — three songs and a code to download a fourth — the band abandons some, but not all, of the youthful pop/punk verve of the self-titled album and blends some of the ramshackle power pop of 2006’s “Belongs to the Dead” with a more tuneful, mature approach.
“Spirit Desire” the song is built upon a military drum beat, providing a foundation for fuzz-tone guitars. “Waiting for the sun, but I know that it’ll come,” Adam McIlwee sings, a perfect marriage of dread and hope. Brianna Collins adds a spooky organ line after the first verse and keeps it going the rest of the way.
Ben Walsh — like McIlwee, a guitarist — delivers the lead vocals on “We Are Great, There Is Only One,” a driving, cinematic piece, Pat Brier propelling the verses with a tight, thumping bass drums/snare drum/ride cymbal pattern. It clocks in at an economic one minute and 59 seconds.
“Crystal Vision,” ostensibly about seeing things clearly, not the local eyeglasses store, opens things up again, with the guitars working together to construct a hazy wall of sound, one playing a descending lead line over distorted chords. There’s a bit of a multi-tracked J Mascis/Dinosaur Jr. feel because of that, but McIlwee’s vocals and lyrics like “Can I be enough? / Can we ever talk about us?” give the song more of an emo flair.
The bonus download track, “Meet Me at the Corner,” is a high point, with Brier building tension with rim clicks before the chorus bashes its way into the picture. “Wasting time wishing you back to life,” and “Spending all of my time wishing you were alive,” Walsh and McIlwee sing together, maybe yearning for a loved one that’s passed away.
Rating: W W W W