Charmer [LP]

Indie rockers Tigers Jaw abruptly went from a quintet to a duo in 2013 when Adam McIlwee, Dennis Mishko, and Pat Brier left the band, but founding members Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins opted to move forward with the recording of their next album, and persuaded their former bandmates to help them complete the project before moving on for good. It's fitting that Charmer finds Tigers Jaw in a transitional period, moving away from their formal punk and emo influences into a more streamlined sound as Walsh and Collins become the act's dominant creative voices. Musically, Charmer is a more polished and pop-oriented album than most of Tigers Jaw's previous work, but the core of their melodic style has changed little, and the moody urgency of the lyrics is as strong as ever. ~ Mark Deming