By Ryan Smith

Now I know I normally cover forward-thinking music, but every now and again something comes along that simply must be passed along. The most immediate example being Fire Tiger, a band that seems to have travelled via time machine straight from the heart of one of my favourite decades, the 1980’s. Actually hailing from present day Los Angeles, Fire Tiger consists of Tiff Alkouri, James Ramsey, Chris Cuomo, and Cahuengo Mango, and have so far put out one full-length album Energy, released this year.

It is my pleasure to give you the chance to check out the video for the album’s title track. The first thing that I noticed upon my first viewing, was that Fire Tiger have done to eighties pop rock what Astra did for seventies prog. They’ve studied the era, learned its insides, and constructed a vehicle that takes us right back to it. From the reverb-heavy drums, to the driving keyboards, “Energy” mimics the decade of heavy production and attention-grabbing hooks so perfectly well. Tiff, the band’s cute-as-hell vocalist, has even mastered the carefree spastic dance moves that were a hallmark of the decade’s pop scene. Not merely a pretty face, her powerful contralto is also extremely noteworthy, coursing throughout powerfully arranged music provided by the very capable band.

Tiff Alkouri.

The most amazing things about the track to me: One, the production values (I’m a sucker for studio production techniques and layering) and the attention that was given to making the song sound authentic and professional. The track might sound right out of the 1980’s but it is an original tune, infused with the band’s own personal, for lack of a better term, energy, and the production reflects this. Two, the bloody hooks. The main reason I chose to share this tune with you is that it’s been stuck in my damn head for the past who knows how long. “Energy” might not feature enough of a revolutionary new sound to allow it to ever be classified as anything groundbreaking, but it did capture my attention and it refuses to leave me alone. That is most excellent, I assure you.

I urge you to give “Energy” a view and check out the band’s full-length album of the same name if you like what you hear! The band can be found at their official website, firetigermusic.com. At the very least, the video will take you on a hell of a nostalgia trip this fine Monday!

RYAN SMITH spends a great deal of his time under troll bridges shaking his fist and hollering obscenities at the mainstream, but occasionally finds himself on the side of a pop act that the underground has disowned. A schizoid fan for the 21st century? Although he has a diverse musical taste that runs the gamut from black metal to country to most forms of jazz, Ryan’s first love will always be progressive music.