Twin Tigers is an Athens, GA band that released this album, Gray Waves, a few months ago. For a band that has not gotten much pub and fanfare, this album is quite an impressive effort as they have created an album that is almost purely modern stadium rock. When we think of modern stadium rock we think of bands like U2 and Muse, bands which have, as wikipedia puts it, an “unnatural emphasis on large, anthemic hooks and choruses”. With relatively little attention this band from Athens has created an album that mostly fits right into that pantheon of stadium rock and features songs that sound like they should be played to a huge football stadium full of fans. The album features great bombastic, over the top songs with powerful hooks that really seem to put this as a band to really keep your eye on going forward.

The album kicks off with “Passive Idol”, a killer track that opens with the wailing stadium rock guitar leading into great bridges and hooks, all featured behind the voice of Matthew Rain, guitarist and vocalist for the band, echoing shades of Bono and other stadium rock stalwarts at times. “Run Fox Run” is even more audacious and over the top, while “Everyday” echoes some more lower key, garage rock tendencies of the band. “Watershed” and “Sexless Love” are pure anthemic stadium rock 101, with huge hooks and guitars and just everything done huge. “Gray Waves”, the album’s title track, is an anthemic new wave ballad of sorts that is lumbering, brooding but still done up big. The last few songs on the album don’t quite stick as much as the first half of the album.

While the album is a little disjointed at times and can jump from very anthemic stadium rock to a more noisy, garage kind of sound, overall the band has created an album that is just large and loud. These songs for the most part really do feel like songs that belong in a stadium or arena, and the production, songwriting and music all tend to aim to be huge on this record. The album maybe suffers some from not having much variety and diversity beyond the large rock stylings that they so well offer, but really it doesn’t seem as if the band is interested in bringing something else. They clearly have a knack for the over the top and the stadium rock, and the songs where they most clearly go for that are the most successful songs on the record.

While the album is not top to bottom without any faults, for the most part they have planted themselves clearly in the camp of large, anthemic rock and this band should probably be in that discussion going forward. If they can in any way deliver live the way they try to deliver the grandiosity on the album, then they should be in good shape.

Twin Tigers – Passive Idol – From Gray Waves (CD, Vinyl, MP3, iTunes)
Twin Tigers – Gray Waves – From Gray Waves (CD, Vinyl, MP3, iTunes)