What we have here, in these Track A Tiger lads and lass, is a lesson in propulsion. It’s not a lesson in jet fuel, the thrust of a space shuttle or a hypersonic-inclined Mach 5 craft. It’s the compelling part of that word’s definition that we’re striking at… they’re striking at. The songs in this session and on the band’s latest full-length, Woke Up Early the Day I Died — a title that allows one ample opportunity to crack jokes about what early birds really get, are beggars, but they needn’t be. They beg for your undying love, for your hands and the soft brush of your fingertips on their cheeks. They reach for you in the dark, and touch you with their songy, unconfident reach — just to make sure you’re still there. And that may seem like they’re desperate and clingy, but that’s a load of bull. The songs compel you to reach right back out to them the same way Sam Beam’s best songs do. But these have more teeth and more of a bite. There’s some swing inside them, some swagger for the sad-eyed folks that populate their innards. They show tenure with lonely, unfortunate situations and, had they been written hundreds and hundreds of years ago — thousands of years ago, whatever it might be — they could have been explained as the downtrodden, yet melodic prisms that led to the first fermentation and discovery of red wine. These songs are wet with the sweetest, drowsiest cascade of vino persuasion. They’re glued together with that feeling that comes when one too many is still a ways off, but you’ve already had your share. There’s enough inside you, lighting you up that a hitchhiker traveling through your body would think that there was a full moon out that night, for the veins and the ligaments were as visible as he or she’d ever seen. For a few days before these songs were to have been recorded, there was discussion that Pat would just record the band in his living room as he’s been friend’s with lead singer Jim Vallet for the better part of two decades, but the idea never materialized and the studio was used after all. No matter as the songs still find a way to feel homey. — Sean Moeller

First song
Happy (Track A Tiger) [3.11MB] [1604 downloads]


— original version appears on Woke Up Early the Day I Died
Nice groove, makes me smile even though it’s not a very happy song. I don’t think I’ve ever written a happy song. Some kid from a blog in Italy asked why we were so sad all the time. We’re not, but the record is a bit depressing. My mom told me she gets sad listening to it. That wasn’t my intention.

Second song
With Stars Down (Track A Tiger) [2.75MB] [1518 downloads]


— original version appears on Woke Up Early the Day I Died
I recorded this as a slow acoustic song but we’ve ramped it up a bit. I think it sounds kinda like the Feelies, which makes me smile. We re-recorded it for the new record. I think the title is from some Dylan Thomas poem. In fact, I’ve stolen so much from him I’ll probably be sued. Love his stuff.

Third song
All These Accidents (Track A Tiger) [3.36MB] [1495 downloads]


— unreleased
This will be on the next record. Another song about how sucky relationships are.

Fourth song
Here at the End (Track A Tiger) [5.07MB] [1460 downloads]


— original version appears on Woke Up Early the Day I Died
A slow, spooky one. I was trying to be Low when I wrote it. I would LOVE to hear them sing it. Our vocals are not so good on this version. I wrote it about my hometown, Dubuque, (Iowa), “Torn and alone this wounded river town …” I was thinking about people I’ve seen that move back there after all kinds of bad shit happens in their lives … and the town seems to make it worse. Lonely, divorced, living back with their parents, drinking, shit like that.