Tigers That Talked are a quartet hailing from assorted corners of the UK and Europe but currently making their beautiful and original music in Leeds, gravitating towards the city's current artistic and creative renaissance. The band have released a number of self-produced DIY EPs, available to fans at gigs and through their MySpace, and are now set for their first album release in 2010.
The band was formed by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jamie Williams in 2006, and quickly drew around him the current line up of bassist Owain Kelly, half-Norwegian violinist Glenna Larsen, and drummer and percussionist Chris Verney.
The band create a multi-layered, intensely beautiful music that can be in turns euphoric, rousing and haunting. Focused around Jamie's vocals and Glenna's effect-adorned violin, and coupled with the band's frenzied live energy, Tigers That Talked create a music that, as one critic has said, sounds "vaguely of a piece with recent bands but not really immediately fitting in as The Next. anyone. There's hints of the Cure, Arcade Fire, Elbow and Ryan Adams.….", and others have suggested is influenced as much by the filmic elegance of Ennio Morricone as the ramshackle folk rock of The Arcade Fire. In the process they combine pop hooks infectious enough to snag the mainstream with the laconic romanticism of folk, and create a genuinely fresh British sound in the process.
Their first single - 23 Fears - was Steve Lamacq's record of the week and recieved plays from other influential DJ's such as Radio 1's Zane Lowe & Colin Murray and XFM's Jon Kennedy & John Hillcock. The second single - Black Heart, Blue Eyes - received extensive critical acclaim from many well respected publications as well as airplay on radio stations across the world. The third single - Artificial Clouds - was hailed by Steve Lamacq and "the most played single in Lamacq Towers" and received excellent reviews across the board. The band is now preparing for the release of their debut album this year.
Praise For Tigers That Talked
"My new favourite band [.] I'm waiting desperately for the Album" - Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6
"Masters of the slow brood, [they] ebb and flow with filmic elegance, swaying between maudlin melodrama and frenzied, multi-layered crescendos" - NME
"Tigers That Talked are slowly evolving into mastering a scene where the pedestal is high and unsuccessful climbers are frequent, not that taking a tumble seems likely for them" – Q Music Online
"If there is a band on better form in the UK at the moment I'm yet to hear them [.] They have a real zealous appeal […] breathtakingly brilliant stuff" – The Beat Surrender
"Really beautiful, sonorous rock" - Sandman
"Glorious, melodramatic, yet majestic folk-pop" – Subba Cultcha
"Tigers That Talked will engage the ear drums, heighten the senses and provoke the cranium [.] A band overflowing with raw talent and natural creative flair; their songs are flawless and beautiful, with an impeccable lyrical ability and violins that take your breath away. Their whole sound has a spine-tingling uniqueness and breadth to it […] they truly are something very special" – Noize Makes Enemies
Praise for 'Artificial Clouds'
"This is such a good record [.] the most played single at Lamacq Towers right now [.] if you give it three listens, it'll give you a lifetime of love" - Steve Lamacq Record of the Week , BBC Radio 2
"A shimmering, violin-flecked pastoral pop beauty" - The Sunday Times Culture Magazine
"Venturing on the sentimental landscapes of sound commonly found in the grooves of Arcade Fire, Temper Trap and the more downbeat moments of Mew, […] Artificial Clouds is a beautiful, Elbow-esque piece of composition, its melancholic chorus being an obvious centrepiece" – Q Music Online
"Artificial Clouds, is a glorious track […] at times euphoric and at others sounding swathed in misery [.] If you can hear a more perfect song all year I'll be amazed"– The Beat Surrender
"This is just lovely. It's got strings. It's got angular guitars. It's got pillow-soft vocals. Their debut record won't be out until next year, but if they can hit these heights regularly, it promises to be outstanding [.] Jamie Williams' voice is the best I've heard in a new indie band this year. […] Sumptuous" – The Music Magazine Single of the Week
"An impressive, heart-on-sleeve epic with a huge chorus that inspires love at first listen [.] Sublime" – The Music Fix
"With Jamie Williams' melting voice surrounded by comforting bass, starry-eyed guitar and heartstring violin, […] Artificial Clouds [is] a dreamy, melancholic, beautifully dynamic piece of musical architecture that hints at a dark romanticism, carefully echoed in their loving blend of folk with sorrowful pop rock. […] Make yourself useful and download this track off iTunes immediately. Then tell your friends to do the same" – The 4oh5
Praise for 'Black Heart, Blue Eyes'
"A rousing, tempo-changing and extremely busy offering that fully demonstrates the breadth of their skill […] a fearless recording that grabs your attention and refuses to let go" – IndieLondon 4/5
"This is by far the best debut I've heard since the beginning of 2009, and I'll be truly surprised if the Tigers aren't the talk of the town by year's end" – Noize Makes Enemies 10/10
"A beautiful effort that has a definite vulnerability to it" – The Beat Surrender
"If the Arcade Fire lived in a seaside town on the English Riviera, this is how they'd sound. Like The Smiths wrapped in a cuddly warm blanket of happy-place" - Subba Cultcha E.P. of the Month.
"A very British, very polished sound, mellow at the offset but building nicely into an enthusiastic and charming offering […] Watch out for their debut album, judging by the quality of the EP, you won't want to miss it" – This is Fake DIY 8/10
