Tigershark/Thank GodRIP Jon Zanin 1980-2007
I would like to open this review properly, considering how my stupid ass completely forgot about it in the previous review. Tigershark's drummer Jon Zanin passed away at a very young age. I would like to extend my deepest condolences first and foremost to Jon's family, friends and his band. The band have decided (and rightfully so in my opinion) to call it a day. So this split will be the last thing they will have ever put out.
Opening up the album on side A is Thank God who hail from Columbia, South Carolina and feature ex members of Guyana Punch Line and Antischism. They have thus far released an EP hilariously titled "For Pregnant Virgins" and a split with the Japanese band Deepslaughter. They play a similar style of hardcore that would be found to those found on Gravity Records. For this album they offer up 3 songs of eerie, schizophrenic hardcore. They open up with "I Will Die In Paris", which is extremely laid back and features some very strange vocals that I can't compare to anything. At first I really disliked the vocals but after giving it a lot more spins they really started to grow on me. The second song, and my favorite of theirs is "That Crazy Mouse Is Cool". The song opens with a sweet bassline and then the vocalist jumps in speaking in foreign tongues it seeks, sounds like an Indian man tripping face on shrooms, then the band jumps into a manic break until briefly slowing it down again, this goes on for the rest of the song, which is quite short, clocking out at 1:28. I'm liking these guys more than I thought I would.
Also contributing three new songs of their own is Tigershark, who has you probably already know, call Richmond, VA their home and feature ex members of The Assistant, The Setup , Are You Fucking Serious?!? and one current member in Mouthbreather (John Martin). If you read the demo review, you know I love these guys and if you then read my recent review of their split with Apeshit, you'll know I was expecting a bit more from them. Well, the three songs they lay down on side B are just what I was waiting for. Their opening track, "He's Not A Bartender, He's An Artist!" is one of the band's more straight up D-beat songs until around the 40 second mark they bust into a near blast beat. One of new favorite Tigershark jams is their closing song, "The..I..Um..We..Uhh." which is perhaps the band's most laid back song to date, relying on a really awesome chorus riff that just drones on with some slow and effective drum work with Jay using some slow, spoken vocals that sound fucking awesome. Ah, now this is more like it!
I'm not sure if Tigershark used the same studio to record in but things sound much, much better than they did on their split with Apeshit The vocals are still a bit too distant for my liking but other than that everything sounds pretty good. As for Thank God, their side of the split sounds very good. Nice placement on the vocals, the guitar tone is versatile, the bass tone is twagny and has good presence in the mix, and very good warm tone on the drums.
What a sexy album! This sexy girl comes packaged in a two color silk screened jacket. The material used is brown chipboard which gives it that DIY feel with awesome silver metallic ink being used for the main illustrations and black ink used for the boarders and words. The wonderful theme with the moose and the branch trimmings was crafted by artist Ryan McLennan. Accompanying the record is a cardboard lyric sheet that used the same trimming used on the front cover only things are colored in. The lyrics are written in hand writing but it is still very easy to read. Top notch stuff here.
Rating: 3.8/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Tigershark-He's Not A Bartender...He's An Artist! and The..I..Um..We..Uhh.. Thank God-That Crazy Mouse Is Cool
Synopsis: This split rules point blank. The tracks from both parties involved slayed my ass and introduced me to a new band I would have never heard of otherwise probably. Tigershark are definitely closed off their life as a band the right way and Thank God were a pleasant surprise. This thing is cheap for a 10" so I recommend that you head over to Molsook Records and pick yourself up a copy.
Tigershark MySpace
Thank God MySpace
The Perpetual Motion Machine Records
Tick Tock Records