Album Review: Tigerstate - ‘Tigerstate’
Oslo-based indie collective Tigerstate are hypnotic on their gorgeous self-titled debut album.
On-the-rise Norwegian collective Tigerstate describe themselves as an eclectic gang of young musicians, singers and other creative people. Their innovative and organic sound bears testament to the fruits of this collaborative approach to music production.
The collective’s debut album ‘Tigerstate’ is a gorgeous mosaic of influences, styles and genres. Early single ‘Occupied’ teased the core after-hours psychedelic-pop sound that is laced throughout the album’s track list, and it remains a standout. In ‘Occupied’s ‘70s-styled pop flair and dancefloor-ready energy, recalling Donna Summer, it’s pure late-night lovestruck euphoria. As the band themselves share, “This is a song about dancing, love and jealousy. We embraced the cheesiness and disco.”
‘Tuesday’ follows suit, with a sonically hazy opening giving way to rhythmic piano and groovy synths. Its diverse production thrums in a way that mimics the lyrical early-romance buzz: “I get over-excited sharing my love / I hope you care”. The funk inflected ‘Besserwisser’, meanwhile, has a deliciously slinking sibilance to it.
Each track feels shrouded in an air of dreaminess and feverishness. Nowhere more so than on ‘Back To You’, which combines honey-rich vocals with soaring, soulful production. It has all the ardently vivid imaginings of staring at your bedroom ceiling in the throes of romantic uncertainty: “I keep thinking and wondering how you might feel”.
‘Holy Moly’ and ‘Just Like Magic’ are two comparatively lighter offerings, sweet odes to blissful states of love. ‘Holy Moly’ is especially touching with a delicate piano underlining the sensitivity of its lyrics: “Holy moly, you smiled at me / And caught my heart, tore it apart”.
Purely instrumental tracks ‘Patriots’ and ‘Spring Break’ show Tigerstate’s focus on all aspects of creativity. Both synth-driven and groovy, their inclusion on the album feels like instinctive–each track flows to the next like water, without a trace of heavy-handedness.
As the band have said, “This album is sort of a fever dream, where nothing is impossible. It was like everything came by itself on a conveyer belt. All the ideas and melodies came quite easily. It was meant to be.”
‘Tigerstate’ ends on a decidedly warm note, with the vibrant ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Loose Ends’. ‘Sunrise’ is a funky, sun-drenched track, conjuring up vistas of figures swaying in a dusky summertime landscape. Its soaring indie-pop bridge is a high point of the album, and it effortlessly melds light-heartedness with an emotional depth: “I just want you to know / That I’ll be with you, I won’t go”.
‘Loose Ends’ is similarly upbeat, a silver-lining track that centres its narrator’s loved one as the bright spot around which “loose ends” and “fake ass friends” spin.
Having made waves in their native Norway, with numerous festival sets and two EPs already under their belt, Tigerstate are now looking to expand their reach.
The collective heralds an exciting and expansive future of the music industry, and with their stellar, inimitable debut album out worldwide on 11 November, there’s nowhere to go but up. We can’t wait to see what they do next.
Words by Eleanor Burleigh
