The third release from Canada’s Tangiers is the kind of recordtailor-made for vinyl. A thick shroud of cigarette smoke and lo-ficackle emanates from the records twelve tracks here. My sense is that thelabel “garage-rock” has been slapped all over it, but that doesn’tentirely get it.
French Kiss Records
The classicism here recalls plenty of scruffy looking bands of yore:the modish bent of The Jam, the persistent hooks of Hoboken pop bandsThe Bongos and The Feelies, and the cassette tape hiss of Guided byVoices (indeed, former GbV drummer Jon McCann pounds the skins here).While Tangiers hardly breaks new sonic ground, the result of The FamilyMyth is a record that is punchy and upbeat without sacrificing theband’s gruff charm.
On “A Hundred Million Feathers’ Weight,” JoshReichmann’s slurred vocals line up nicely with his treble-drenchedguitar and the simple keyboards of Shelton Deverell. “Dragging theHarbour” follows and manages to recall spirit of ’77-era Buzzcocksbetter than even the Buzzcocks can managethese days. If there is acomplaint to be lobbed at The Family Myth, it’s that there is littleallowing the tracks to stand apart from each other. The songwriting istight as an unopened lid, but my sense is that Tangiers may have yet towrite their best batch of songs.
We get a small hint of what else theband can do when they write the best Echo and the Bunneymen song theynever wrote on “Your Pristine Hands.” The song percolates on ahigh wire guitar part and understated keyboard fills. McCann meanwhileis all ride cymbals on this one, a tactic that would have cluttered upother songs but which works surprisingly well here. I’m sure hoards arebanging down the door to call this stuff “garage rock” but, like Isaid, that doesn’t quite get it. Their sound is a bit too intelligentand restrained.
Tangiers may drink at the same bar as The Strokes andthe Mooney Suzuki, but I get the sense they're more inclined to show upfor quiz night then happy hour.
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