Tigers Jaw - Lost On You

As the latest emo revival continues apace, and particularly as midwestern heroes of its second wave like American Football enter into whole new chapters, some of its more modern stalwarts continue to go from strength to strength. That would appear to be especially true of Philadelphia mainstays Tigers Jaw, as they enter into their third decade together with this scintillating eighth record. Over the years, they’ve alternated between lush, multi-layered sounds and rawer, noisier work; both sides of that divide are in evidence on this first album in five years, ‘Lost on You’.

There are poppier, more melodic moments - the standout ‘BREEZER’ is appropriately titled - as well as more reflective indie rockers that play like paeans to some of their forebears; ‘Baptized on a Redwood Drive’ is a case in point, as is the moody ‘Primary Colors’. The aim of the last Tigers Jaw album, 2021’s ‘I Won’t Care How You Remember Me’, was to capture the febrile energy of the group’s live show and that carries over into ‘Lost on You’, particularly on boisterous lead single ‘Head Like a Sinking Stone’. There is no reinvention of the wheel here from Tigers Jaw, but when they do heart-on-sleeve emo this convincingly, that doesn’t matter.