VINYL REVIEW: Tigers Jaw – ‘Charmer’

June 4th, 2014

Brian Leak

Artist: Tigers Jaw
Album: Charmer
Label: Run For Cover Records
Release Date: June 3, 2014

I was admittedly late to the game on Tigers Jaw. “Hum,” their single from late last year, was my first real experience with the band, and from the moment that track finished streaming, I immediately began kicking myself. I ventured back and listened to their past three albums, various splits and singles, and their excellent contribution to Will Yip’s Off The Board compilation. I was hooked, and as a result, I was eagerly awaiting Charmer to drop this month.

I pre-ordered the album as quickly as my Paypal would allow me and when I got my digital download a couple weeks back, I felt beyond confident that it was money well spent, even more so when news broke that some asshole leaked the album, forcing the band and label to release Charmer earlier than scheduled.

My vinyl copy of Charmer came in today and I can assure you that this is a physical release any collector will want to own. Let’s dive in to the details.

Pressing Info

I opted for the pink and white starburst variant of Charmer that’s limited to 1,500 copies. I’m typically not the type to care about rarity in this situation and I’m a sucker for pink vinyl so I chose to pass on the more limited maroon/white starburst through RFC or the Hot Topic and Newbury exclusives.

The vinyl version of the album was released on the original date of June 3 for $14 plus shipping through the Run For Cover Records store (with much higher prices shipped through Hot Topic and Newbury Comics).

Packaging & Presentation

Charmer‘s packaging exceeded my expectations. I was going to love this release either way, but the extra care and details put into the physical copies make it all the more enjoyable.

In regards to the album’s cover, Ben Walsh recently told Noisey, “Brianna spent many, many hours hand-stitching all that. She’s pretty much done all our art since the beginning, so she wanted to try something a little bit different, so she learned how to do that, how to embroider. I think it looks awesome, I’m really happy with it.”

I’m really happy with it too, Ben. I was impressed with the originality from the first time I saw it, and now knowing that Brianna did it all herself makes the DIY appreciator in me very happy. For the vinyl release, they did her work justice by embossing all the stitching details on the cover, front and back–even the RFC logo. The finish on the jacket is pretty standard but it’s printed on a nice, thick cardstock and the emboss texture adds a little something extra (any extras always make me smile). One thing I noticed is that the title on the spine is upside-down as far as traditional spines go. I really couldn’t care less how the title is put on there but I figured it was worth noting since it seemed unusual.

Inside, you’re greeted with a massive four-panel cover art poster with its flipside serving as a lyric sheet; another nice addition. They also did away with your standard record sleeve and went with a custom sleeve that matches the art theme.

The album itself is beautiful. As mentioned before, I have an affinity for pink vinyl with starburst variants being a go-to for me as well. The colors don’t necessarily match the album’s artwork but they still manage to complement each other well. Overall, the entire package is beyond what I expected and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. It also comes with a digital download of course for one final element to confirm that your money was well spent.

Sound Quality

I’d argue that Charmer is Tigers Jaw’s first album that feels as though it was written and recorded specifically for this format. Charmer‘s fuzzy and ofttimes muddled guitar tones perfectly produced by Will Yip mixed with Ben and Brianna’s dual vocal melodies sound as good as they possibly can on vinyl.

Wrap-Up

I think I’ve pretty much got my point across that this release is spectacular. Charmer is already one of my favorite albums of the year so I’m thrilled to have such a stellar physical copy for my collection. The price is extremely fair and affordable and as this release offers more than the bare standards, it should be a no-brainer buy. You can still purchase this specific variant and others through Run For Cover ($14.00), Hot Topic ($20.50), and Newbury Comics ($19.99). I highly recommend that you do.

Review written by: Brian Lion — (Follow him on Twitter)