Nick 13’s TIGER ARMY drop an open clawed slice of L.A Psychobilly with their aptly titled ‘Retrofuture’. After the instrumental opening of ‘Prelude Tercio De Muerte’, a tail flicking almost arrogant ‘Beyond The Veil’ shimmies through the trailer park at dawn with the dead mouse of sounds past hanging from it’s smiling jaws. The sound remains unmistakeably Tiger Army as Nick 13’s soothing, yet when pushed stunning voice, reverberates and smothers the Rockabilly pounding spine. Next up is the “woohoo” chorus of a cantering ‘Last Ride’ before the pace drops for the drive-in movie moonlight kiss of a slowly bubbling ‘Valentina’. The bands constant and deliberate ploy of switching styles in order to push the Psychobilly boundaries may have caused a few old school followers to decamp but to the casual ‘Billy’ listener, it makes perfect commercial and artistic sense to keep the movement(s) both fresh and challenging. The graveyard Rock ‘N’ Roll tango of ‘The Past Will Always Be So’ is surpassed by a raucous titty twister kissed ‘Devil That You Don’t Know’. The threatening punky punch of ‘Death Card’ connects with blood pact bone while ‘Sundown’ breezes past with shades on and the top down. A skin slamming ‘Eyes Of The Night’ comes in at just One minute twenty-one seconds, its a stripped to the waist, tattooed and bona fide wrecking anthem. The opposite could be said of the Latino flavoured ‘Mi Amor La Luna’ (link to the video below) and the melancholy ‘Black Neon’ as Nick 13’s vocal style echos that of another L.A favourite, Morrissey. The last cowboy walking off into the sunset of instrumental ‘Night Flower’ is followed by the album closer ‘Shadowlight’.
Tiger Army has delivered a sublime sixth album armed with a seamless deftness of touch to weave in the many genres that it lovingly envelopes while remaining true to their own beliefs and onward musical journey.
TIGER ARMY
RETROFUTURE
Rise Records
9/10