THE 405 RADAR: THREE TRAPPED TIGERS
January 28, 2009,
Written by Tim Boddy
Adding to the plethora of animal-named bands, this is the only part of Three Trapped Tigers that you could call unoriginal. Their sheer uniqueness is astounding given the age and accessibility of music in which we live; to attempt to use an all-encompassing genre word would be an insult to the eclectic London based trio. Of influence is both modern Math-Rock in Battles, and the more technical 90’s based Don Caballero of the same genre. However, this is offset against a past in which two of Three Trapped Tigers started out as an Improv outfit in clubs, and is evident in theirmusic.
This leads to an electric mix of supreme technical ability merged with journeys that scrawl, meander and mesmerise through many of their tracks.
Adam Bett’s INSANE!! (Yep, capitals and exclamation points necessary) drumming drives them forward, and in certain tracks such as 5 you can hear Squarepusher in this respect, with subtle jazz undertones in a jumpy dance style. The use of synths and electronica, fused with ultra fast-beats in parts of songs leads to a frantic burst of energy, in similar vein to that of Holy Fuck. The Result being it makes you want to fling your limbs uncontrollably in every direction like a dyspraxic loon, akin to the feeling of when an excited child runs so fast their body can’t keep up with their legs. All tracks are nameless and therefore numbered as the now disbanded Forward Russia! did before them, I guess keeping in line with the vocal-less approach of Three Trapped Tigers.
Although not having watched them live, word of mouth is how ‘must see’ they are, and you can understand that very much being the case judging by their EP released late last year. They are currently supporting other hyped acts such as Crystal Antlers and Lets Wrestle in the coming months as well as independent shows. I will certainly be checking them out. And if you’re into this kind of thing, so ruddy well should you.
Link: http://www.myspace.com/threetrappedtigers
Photography: Seb - http://www.flickr.com/photos/spietsch/
Listen:
MP3: Three Trapped Tigers - Untitled
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