Catchy albums are great; they pull you in from the very first listen and demand to be played on repeat until you simply can’t stand it anymore. And there’s the crux of it. They always, pretty much without fail, become kind of intolerable after a while. The elements that first hooked you in become tools that contribute to the undisputable banality of the music until you simply cannot take another second of that goddamn song.
Tigercub are not one of these bands, and ‘As Blue As Indigo’ is not one of these albums. It’s plausible, probable even, that these ten tracks will struggle to draw you in completely on the first listen but they will leave you curious, inviting you to delve deep into their fabric, only ever finding more to love with each listen. It’s difficult, for example, upon your first (or even second and third) listen, to make out many of the lyrics, but the appreciation of these will come later once you’ve emerged from your awestruck trance, induced by the absolute control and range of frontman Jamie Hall’s angelic vocals. At other times, you’ll be so distracted by the band’s now signature riffs that you’ll miss something subtly wonderful, like a powerful bass line or a beautiful string arrangement.
While the lyrics are initially hard to pick up on in the heavier tracks, however – such as the opening title track, ‘As Blue As Indigo’ or latest single ‘Sleepwalker’ – once you do take the time to read into them, you’ll find that this record is built on the most vulnerable foundations. Hall has opened himself up in a way he never has before, and you’ll find yourself learning a lot about him, as well as about yourself. And that’s where the real beauty of this album lies; it’s written about very specific and personal experiences but in such a way that makes it very easy to apply it to your own. It’s fitting, then, that the album’s title suggests just that – colour is subjective, and so is grief, mental illness, your self worth – and with each track that passes, you’ll find yourself experiencing the most satisfying of cathartic releases.
Once heard, the lyrical content is unquestionably stunning, even when it’s heartbreaking (and it often is), but don’t get so lost in understanding the thematic content that you forget to unpick the layers upon layers of intricate musicianship. This in itself tells a story and presents imagery that no amount of words could ever conjure. ‘As Blue As Indigo’ is an album that was written and recorded during a tense and chaotic time – not just globally but for Hall himself, too. It started out being worked on in isolation with Hall’s bandmate James Allix and producer Adrian Bushby (I challenge you to ignore the Muse influences throughout), but both left the process shortly before they were to start mixing. A difficult situation to conquer, you can easily hear this intensity in the music – a direct reflection of the circumstances in which Hall found himself following his team’s departure.
This intensity, however – which presents itself in the form of chaotic beats and filthy riffs – is interwoven with more delicate sounds that support the lyrics in telling Hall’s story. ‘Blue Mist In My Head’, ‘Funeral’ and ‘Built to Fall’ all capitalise on the more vulnerable side of Hall’s skillset, working perfectly with the heavier rock to create a holistic sound that perfectly encompasses who Tigercub are and will, hopefully, continue to be.
Nothing about this album is predictable – there are plenty of offbeat moments that catch you off guard, and jarring minor melodies that sometimes clash with the persistent riffs – but it’s this that makes this album so strong. Unlike the immediately catchy numbers that almost certainly have a shelf-life, ‘As Blue As Indigo’ has longevity, and is an album that fans will revisit for years to come, likely still finding something new to marvel at even then.
YASMIN BROWN