Tiger in my Tank is the bedroom pop project of Sebastian Castillo, who was born in Caracas, Venezuela but raised in New York. This album, Skinned Genie and the Same Chords, was initially released back in 2015, but has been re-released on cassette by our friends at Cereal + Sounds.
The album comprises of 15 tracks of dreamy bedroom pop, and right from the opener ‘Monsieur Mono’, it’s clear that we’re going to get some good fun to go along with it. It’s not hard to imagine a roomful of people throwing some swanky 60s psychedelic shapes as Castillo sings:
“Flock of my house, they drink champagne.
They never forget where meat gets made.
Plot in a chord, I’ll need perfume.
Confession receipts, alone and in my room”
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There’s a different kind of throwback on ‘Prudent Policies’ which is all fuzzy pop, like a long lost NME fan-favourite from the 80s, while ‘Major Works’ shares a similar feel, shrouded in a warm and hazy MBV-style blanket. Other stand outs (to my ears) include ‘Knelt in Hair’, which ripples with a nostalgic and sleepy romanticism, and the pepped up ‘Wrong Souvenir Love’. ‘Signal Peru’ adds a dash of cool-kid pop to the mix, which, along with tracks like ‘The Same Chords’, shows that Tiger in my Tank are equally adept at lean and catchy indie rock.
“Oh, pillage the city’s sense of haute perfection.
Bank-rolled sewage plant infection.But the same chords are okay with me”
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The final track brings together all the elements, somehow managing to be simultaneously dreamy and catchy and fuzzed out with feedback. It’s the sort of song that makes you disappointed that summer has gone for another year, because you just know it would sound so good on a warm, bright evening.
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You can get Skinned Genie and the Same Chords on cassette and name-your-price download via the Cereal and Sounds Bandcamp page.
