Tiger Waves have crafted a duo of tunes that amount to some of 2012′s quintessential Autumn music in the indie realm. Earlier this year, the group made waves (heh) with the rollicking “Weekends”, landing them notoriety in the Austin, Texas “live music capital of the world” scene, a short tour, and a coveted opening slot for electronic/glitch pop avant-garde artist Neon Indian in a show at the famous Emo’s venue.
“Countryside” takes the splendid highlights of “Weekends” and spins them into another roly-poly piece heavy on the Beach Boys and light on the experimenting. This will be a reassurance to any follower of the band that they intend to keep developing the more “catchy” element of their music farther along.
“Don’t Be Yourself (Cowboy Song Part 2)” takes the instrumental sensibility of more recent Blind Pilot and places emphasis squarely on harmony, with some eerie electronic sensibility hovering in the background. I have a feeling Reid Comstock would do very well if given the chance to jam with Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie, The Microphones). And that’s just based off this song. The “eerie” in Mount Eerie definitely has some influence in the midsection of the song; whether this is intentional or not I cannot say. The song comes full circle in the third and final movement, with elements of both the intro and midsection standing out. Captivating.
Score: 4/5
