Tiger Lou
Until I’m There/Days Will Pass 7”
It’s a Trap!
Remember when the music crit word “anthemic” wasn’t a codeword for just being completely derivative of U2? It’s been quite a long time, at least since U2 aped their own heyday with 2000’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind and likely even before that, with bands “paying homage” to alternative guitar-rock icons like Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead. Sweden’s Tiger Lou has been around long enough to potentially get caught in the wake of these lesser musical acts’ lack of originality, but thankfully their version of a soaring rock song isn’t weighted down with nearly as much hubris and histrionics as their contemporaries. Listening to It’s a Trap’s 7” of “Until I’m There” and “Days Will Pass” – both from the band’s 2005 album, The Loyal – it’s a wonder they haven’t found a proper label to release their work in the states. The burning fretwork, incessant beat and catchy melodies all around driving “Until I’m There” sounds like what I imagine Coldplay would like to attain if they someday managed to shake off their career-long bout of anemia. The same goes for “Days Will Pass,” which rides in on reverbed and delayed chords, soon picked up by a 4/4 beat and pile-driven through a verse, before being abandoned after the chorus. The group’s shifts from grand to quaint and back again never feel like a forced attempt at adding dynamics. There’s a very organic flow to both of the tracks’ movements, a true rarity with this genre these days. Can we please get these guys a record contract in the states? If you start a petition, I’ll sign it.
It’s a Trap!: http://www.itsatrap.com
