CD Review: The Rock Tigers "Oldies But Goodies"

This is a review I've been looking forward to doing for several weeks now. Before I get into it, I have some confessions to make. I'm fascinated by South Korea, its culture, its films, everything I can find about that country I devour. The one thing I had been missing was Korean music, in the films you see hints of R & B style popular music and pop music, but very little indie rock, rock n roll, punk, etc... So I wondered if it even existed, I googled "Korean Rockabilly" and came up with the Rock Tigers. They looked right but it wasn't until I found their Myspace page that I knew I had to hear this band! I managed to get my hands on their two full-lengths and decided for the purposes of this blog, a review of the latest album, released April 19, 2007, was appropriate. Their first album is more straight up rock 'n roll, but the new one is an interesting mix. Anyway, on to Oldies But Goodies!

The Rock Tigers "Oldies But Goodies"

Oldies But Goodies opens the the exceptionally rockin' track, "Run (Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die)" and this sets the tone for the record. Not every track is nearly the stomper that "Run" is, but they all follow the same high quality standards set by the opener. A good, old fashioned rock 'n roll tune with a driving beat, loud Chuck Berry styled guitar riffs and excellently traded male/female lead vocals, "Run" is everything a good rockin' tune should be. This is but one of the many American roots styled tunes on this record from South Korea's first rockabilly band. From here, the record slows the tempo for a light bouncy tune called (if my translator is to be believed) "Dance, People Dance", sort of a swingy number that could send couples spinning around the floor without too much further encouragement. Here is where the record gets interesting. It is tough to know how much influence other rockin' acts have had on the band, given the Korean peninsula's long isolation from the rest of the world, but it appears that from here on out, their style runs along very close lines with some of the best in the world. Track three is called "그무렵 우리는", which, I'm sorry to say, I cannot find anything even resembling a decent English translation of, is a fast psychobilly number recalling early Mad Heads, who are one of my favorite bands. The song is tight and fast, and even more satisfyingly melodic than those early Mad Heads tunes, they use the dual lead vox to great advantage. The album then, once again, downshifts in a song called "Oldies But Goodies" which is another swingy rockabilly song. The album careens every which way across subgenres to achieve something startling, an album that fulfills around almost every corner. Track five finds the Tigers attacking country music with a song called, as near as I can tell "For One Day" (하루쯤은), the song starts out as a Johnny Cash styled tune with picking reminiscent of the Tennessee Two, and transforms somewhere along the way into a full blown rockabilly anthem. Again, the stunning lead vocals and incredible harmonies carry along completely unintelligible lyrics to make the song catchy as hell. Following that comes the one sort of let down of the album, a song called "Daytime Of Youth" (청춘의 한낮) which is a rather formulaic rock 'n roll song with completely unnecessary horns thrown in the mix. From there on out the band continues hitting on all cylinders channeling big name psychobilly acts like Mad Sin, the Horrorpops, and Nekromantix in their lighter moments. There is no metal on this record, but a good deal of rockin' influence complimented with splashes of punk, swing, and even blues. Other standout tracks include a track that could've been on the last Horrorpops album called "Welcome To My Wonderland", a pure rockabilly number called "Saturday Night", a Doo Wop number called "Moonlight Blues", and the closer, a great song that recalls some of the more romantic Nekromantix numbers called "One-Sided Love". While it should be abundantly clear that I am deeply in love with this band, they aren't for everyone. The Rock Tigers are a rockin' band with a very prevalent pop sensibility. I know a lot of psychos prefer their music to be of the type that will never be heard by those outside the know, but, if The Rock Tigers sang in English, I don't think mainstream popularity would be out of the question. Another hindrance to some might be the language barrier, although, many bands sing in their home tongues and still have decent followings, hell, Banane Metalik even managed to get a pretty good turn out in the USA despite singing only in French. Velvet Geena, the band's female lead vocalist and one of the rhythm guitarists, also could be a vocal doppelgänger for Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, and I could see her high pitched voice ruffling more than a few feathers. All possible petty annoyances aside, The Rock Tigers are a fantastic band with a bright future. Check out their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/therocktigers

As of right now, there is not really a good way to find this record, but I'm working on that, so as availability becomes a bit easier, I will post updates.