Tigers In Cairo have today released their new 2 song EP titled ‘as told by…’, featuring the covers ‘Do You Still Hate Me?’, from Jawbreaker‘s 1994 classic ’24 Hour Revenge Therapy’, and ‘That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate’, originally from Mission Of Burma‘s 1982 album ‘Vs’.
Retroactive and post heyday tributes from two different eras by a band steeped in musical feeling and knowledge of what they do best, ‘as told by…’ is all too short but oh so sweet in ways that only connoisseurs of pure indie music can ever understand.
This mix is massive and the guitars fill out the rhythm and bass in such a way as to demand the earbuds go into the trash before that first listen. This is a massive stereo system pair of tracks.
About Tigers In Cairo
Blending alt rock sounds of the past and present into a vivid tapestry, San Diego’s Tigers In Cairo attack each song with their melodic brutality. Today, the five-piece delivers a holiday gift for their fans, and fans of punk rock history, releasing as told by…, featuring covers of songs by Jawbreaker and Mission of Burma.
Leading off the pack is a blistering version of “Do You Still Hate Me?,” a highlight from Jawbreaker’s 1994 classic 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. Tigers In Cairo’s take on the song keeps the original’s ramshackle energy, but buffs the charging groove into an impressive sheen, emphasizing dynamics in the composition that the proudly DIY Jawbreaker were happy to steamroll with distortion, without sacrificing its intensity. Vocalist David Martin applies his muscular bravado to Blake Schwarzenbach’s melody, emphasizing the anthemic aspects and adding his own guttural screams. The band first covered the song during a Halloween show, in which they performed a set of Jawbreaker covers.
Second, Tigers In Cairo take aim at “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate,” originally by Mission Of Burma and featured on their massively acclaimed 1982 album Vs. As a tribute to original songwriter Clint Conley, who played bass in Mission of Burma, Tigers In Cairo beef up the low end, as bassist Ren Volpi locks in with drummer Matt Yansch to provide a bedrock for guitarists Gavin Rhodes and Paul Skura to drill into with their piercing guitars. Tigers In Cairo begin the song with a signature, Mission Of Burma-esque scrawl of tape noise, before launching headfirst into the bite-sized banger.
Drummer Matt Yansch had this to say about the two songs: “We’re deep in writing mode for our next round of singles, but we didn’t want to let the year end without getting these out. The Jawbreaker track comes from a Halloween tribute show we did, but the Mission of Burma song has a deeper history for us. Our guitarist Gavin actually covered it years ago in a band that opened for Pegboy, right when Pegboy released their own Mission of Burma cover. When we got the invite to open for Pegboy on their tour this year, bringing that song back felt like the perfect full-circle moment to mark the occasion.”
as told by… concludes Tigers In Cairo’s eventful first full year as a band. They have released four singles, each one offering a different shade of the group’s intensely heavy but melodic sound. Earlier this year, Tigers In Cairo recruited Tobias Grave, frontman of Chicago post-punk outfit Soft Kill, to deliver the atmospheric “In Our Fields.” Last year, the group made a strong first impression with their debut single, “Always Adored,” and follow-up “Wavy Eyes.” All three of the first singles are now available on a limited edition 7”. Over the summer, TIC followed that early troika with the soaring “My Saving Face.” In early October, Tigers In Cairo rocked the stage at Furnace Fest in Birmingham, AL.
With a band name inspired by the Cure’s “Fire In Cairo” and aspiring to embody the ferocity of an apex predator, Tigers In Cairo combines earworm-riffs and progressions with a sharp sense of arrangement into a sound that evokes the ethos of 90’s alt groups like Jawbreaker with the melodic intensity of modern groups like Militarie Gun and the detail-rich soundscapes of bands like The Cure.
With much more music on the way, Tigers In Cairo close 2025 as one of San Diego’s most exciting post-punk groups. Stay tuned for more from the band soon.
Featured image by Chad Kelco.
LINKS:
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https://linktr.ee/tigersincairo
