★★★☆
Bangin’ beats? Check. Glittering electronics? Check.
Choral bursts and rallying ‘woah’s? Check, check. Sydney alt-pop four-piece Tigertown have been globetrotting for the past year, but their latest EP Papernote oozes more Aussie summer vibes than last year’s kelvin-filtered Insta photo of you on the beach in a Bintang singlet.
Brimming with bold, bright and shimmering sounds, opening cut ‘Papernote’ wastes no time in introducing this kaleidoscopic collection. There’s an earworm of a riff borrowed from Zimbabwean guitar god Oliver Mtukudzi, muffled vocals galore (conjuring up those hot and humid days) and lyrics soaked in sunshine and a serotonin-fuelled optimism worthy of Grouplove, Passion Pit and Foster The People.
‘Take Me Away’ offers a breather with washy ’80s synths and bubbling, burbling electronics, while ‘What You Do’ channels a cacophony of strings, horns and vocals into a shamelessly saccharine, four-to-the-floor pop number. The EP closes out with a swirling Børns remix.
What’s refreshing is the lack of pretension here. Sure, the production is slick and there’s some interesting electro experimentation going on, but ultimately Papernote is not about innovation, but celebration.
Tigertown’sPapernoteis out now and available through Inertia.
