Swoon
Tigercub
June 1, 2023
Review by: Mari Abbate

Image: Bridie Florence

In anticipation of their upcoming album The Perfume of Decay, set to come out on June 2nd, UK rock trio Tigercub released a single titled “Swoon.” In the song, vocalist Jamie Hall expresses a certain longing for the familiarity of home with the line “home, where I wanted to be.” Each line describes something that seems so close but just out of reach– close enough to taste, yet locked behind a foggy memory. 

The song pairs soft, delicate vocals with clashy guitar riffs and sporadic drums, resulting in a sound reminiscent of the Deftones. They manage to create that almost nostalgic, dreamy melody that fills the listener with a sense of familiarity. With percussion like crashing waves, guitars like the wind, and hazy vocals, the imagery created by the line “there’s a wave coming on / and I can’t see the shore” truly makes the song feel like a storm on the ocean. It helps that there’s an overall feeling of being stranded, a yearning for something you once had but lost touch with. 

According to Jamie Hall, “Swoon” is the perfect sampler of the album, describing it as “ brooding, dynamic, and explosive.” The album as a whole is meant to encapsulate the feeling of nighttime, as Hall explains it was written and recorded at night, and it somehow comes across perfectly. He describes his creative process to be “under the glimmer of moonlight, my apprehension ebbs and flows like the tide and it doesn’t stop until the morning,” which explains the stormy seas vibes mentioned earlier. I personally really like this song and it’s been stuck in my head all week.

Tigercub is currently wrapping up their North American tour and plan to tour the UK this fall. Their upcoming dates are listed below.

JUNE
6 – Cambridge, MA – The Middle East, Upstairs
8 – New York, NY – The Bowery Ballroom
9 – Philadelphia, PA – MilkBoy
10 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery

OCTOBER
20 – Brighton, UK – CHALK
21 – Stoke-on-Trent, UK – The Sugarmill
22 – Birmingham, UK – Asylum
23 – Gloucester, UK – Gloucester Guildhall
24 – Oxford, UK – The Bullingdon
26 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
27 – London, UK – O2 Academy Islington
28 – Milton Keynes, UK – The Craufurd Arms
30 – Bristol, UK – The Fleece
31 – Sheffield, UK – The Leadmill

NOVEMBER
1 – Newcastle upon Tyne, UK – The Cluny
2 – Glasgow, Scotland – King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut
4 – Leeds, UK – The Key Club
5 – Manchester, UK Gorilla
6 – Cambridge, UK – The Junction
7 – Portsmouth, UK – The Wedgewood Rooms