Tigers Jaw makes the kind of music that does strange things to people.  In the few years they’ve been together, the group and its ever morphing lineup (with Adam McIlwee and Ben Walsh as the two constant members) has established itself as one of the most creative in the Scranton scene (creative bands in Scranton being few and far between these days notwithstanding).  We fell in love with them from the start.  Beginning with the excellent Belongs To The Dead on Summersteps Records, they have astounded us with a series of releases—including mysterious side projects like Buona Pizza and Jewish War Veterans—containing one incredible song after another.  That these songs came to us buried in tape hiss and murk only added to their mystique.

This new, self titled album, takes things in a new direction.  It’s one the group had been hinting at, with recent live shows finding the group evolved into a tight, five piece rock band.  Coming after a series of basement recordings, the sound of the group in a studio is the first noticeable change; the clarity allows for more of the subtle touches to seep through.  But the most important thing is the songs themselves.  And we’re serious when we say that this is one incredible collection of songs.  A few old favorites appear again in reworked, tightened-up forms (“The Sun”, “Meals On Wheels”, “HEAT”), and the newer tracks exhibit a heretofore unseen level of honesty and earnestness.  With the Scranton scene almost unrecognizable from what it was only a year or two ago, Tigers Jaw has proven capable of carrying the torch; far and away the most talented young band for miles around.  Seriously, no contest whatsoever.

We’re tempted to mention bands like The Weakerthans and Texas Is The Reason, the sort of bands that we’ve been known to develop unnatural attachments to.  The bands that we hit a direct line of communication with.  Songs like “I Saw Water” and “Chemicals” stay with you.  There’s something real going on here.