Tiger Saw

Sing!

(Kimchee)

Record Review by Michael Byrne

Sometimes folksy, often symphonic, Tiger Saw make modest music out of complicated arrangements--orchestra strings, band instruments, and an always shifting choir.  A lineup that almost occupies an entire page of the CD's insert should be denser than this, but these songs are kept simple by Dylan Metrano's vocals and Casey Dienel's piano, a stable core of traditional but repetitive melodies.

This album comes very close to achieving its namesake: it makes us want to sing(!)  With the exception of a very electrified closer ("The Sea"), the songs on Sing! are warm, innocent, unpretentious, and catchy.  And, while personal, they cover shared themes: home, friendship, nature, and loss.  On listening, one wonders why this seems so novel, or why this disc leaves a certain music critic feeling naive.  Regardless, the result is an extended hand to the listener.

Sing! is, overall, a joyful album, but in an odd sort of way.  These songs are often celebrations of simple moments with lovers or creation, but there's a sense throughout that they're also celebrations of getting better, that behind this is pain.  We hear on "O Dylan" the lines "the weight of our pasts/a simple surrender/to a shudder that lasts."  And, on "For Adrian," by the time the line "O, we have everything..." finishes repeating, it's become ironic, turned itself into a joke.

Perhaps though, it's not a joke, and Tiger Saw really are that happy.  That, then, would be the accomplishment of Sing!  They convinced me, a cynic among cynics.  It helps that they maintain that smile without ever bringing in faith.  Their joy is found here on the ground amongst each other and the great blue world.  Good for them.