Miniature Tigers
Tell It to the Volcano
Play Tell It to the Volcano
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AMG Review of Tell It to the Volcano
Andrew Leahey
All Music GuideMiniature Tigers may hail from the landlocked sprawl of southern Arizona, but the band's music sets its sights on California, a more appropriate setting for the sun-baked pop songs that comprise this debut. With its ruminations on life, love, and the TV show Lost, Tell It to the Volcano is a delightfully rare record, one that employs power pop songcraft and lyrical snark in equal measures. Frontman Charlie Brand maintains a straight face throughout, whether he's rhyming "Merry Christmas" with "Hare Krishnas" or finding ways to couch his broken heart in a cheery, whimsical context. Accordingly, "Cannibal Queen" likens heartbreak to a desert island experience, with thick harmonies and an "Edge of Seventeen"-styled guitar riff underscoring Brand's melodies, while the title track features the sort of tropical, Caucasian doo wop made popular by the Tokens. Elsewhere, "Tchaikovsky & Solitude" flirts with glockenspiels and Wall of Sound crescendos before shrinking back into a rainy-day ballad, while the rest of the songs -- all but three of which unveil their hooks and conclude before the three-minute mark -- demonstrate a wry, tuneful, and pleasantly sparse approach to pop music. It all sounds slightly homespun, as Brand's preference for acoustic guitar and keyboard counterparts does little to beef up the overall sound. Such simplicity is part of Tell It to the Volcano's charm, however, and Miniature Tigers succeed by not approximating the slickly produced sounds of Fountains of Wayne, Rooney, and other concurrent power pop groups. Instead, they specialize in stripped-down hooks and youthful California dreaming, resulting in the sort of effortless material that's fitting for beachside bonfires despite its poignant content.
Miniature Tigers
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Arizona born/LA dweller Charlie Brand has me believing (and I'm from Baltimore - the city of BELIEVING) in his band, Miniature Tigers. The debut album, Tell It To The Volcano, is ripe with EXTREMELY catchy and memorable pop songs that had me singing along by the end of the first listen. You could compare Brands [...]
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Cannibal Queen Video
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Two points of interest to consider while watching Miniature Tigers Cannibal Queen Video: The opening is quite similar to Stevie Nicks' Edge of Seventeen. What does the use of a black mask for the cannibal character say about the way people associate seemingly deplorable acts with race? If their is some sort of subconscious, or deep seeded [...]
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This is Gonna be a Pop Kind of Year, Isn't It?
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I mentioned how fucking superb Miniature Tigers' debut full-length "Tell It To The Volcano" was in passing amongst the mass of things I bought a few weeks back, and I'm sort of amused that my talking up of their "The Wolf" last year was the first thing anyone had to say about them on MOG. I just felt it was worth it's own post to point out how good and utterly listenable this album is.You shoul...
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Miniature Tigers
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Artist:
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Arizona born/LA dweller Charlie Brand has me believing (and I'm from Baltimore - the city of BELIEVING) in his band, Miniature Tigers. The debut album, Tell It To The Volcano, is ripe with EXTREMELY catchy and memorable pop songs that had me singing along by the end of the first listen. You could compare Brands [...]
More >
Cannibal Queen by Miniature Tigers
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Who : Miniature Tigers from Phoenix, AZ.What : Is this pop mixed between Fountains of Wayne and The Morning Benders ? Thats what came to me instantly. The song below comes from Tell It To The Volcano (Modern Art Records), out now for download but not physically available until early 2009. Buy it here at [...]
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Miniature Tigers: Cannibal Queen (video)
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If you haven't seen that flyer over there on the right, I'm really happy to have added Miniature Tigers to the Oct. 13 Birdmonster and Kinch show at Yucca Tap Room. The group (from Phoenix!) is getting some airtime on Sirius' Left of Center, and the band just released a new video for the single Cannibal [...]
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 "Tell It to the Volcano")
