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| Absolutepunk |
 There is a difference between records for stoners and stoned records. Fortress is the latter. What, I think, Miniature Tigers were going for on such an odd, relaxed album was, probably, just those two things. The band’s output this time around is less pre-Sgt. Peppers Beatles and more glo-fi-haze-WHATEVER. Which isn’t to say that it’s bad – although that’s certainly what it sounds like I’m saying. No, instead Fortress is just sort of meandering in the way that a substance-full Saturday night is. You’ll remember having a good time; you’ll forget why. Honestly, I was ok with 2008’s Tell It To The Volcano. And when it comes down to sheer pleasure, I’m also cool with Fortress. I guess there was just a little bit of early disappointment when opener “Mansion of Misery” sauntered in with jangling percussion and Charlie Brand’s typically freewheeling vocal delivery. A friend described some songs as sounding “the same throughout.” And while I understand that sentiment, I don’t agree. But it took me a few listens to realize I didn't. On “Rock N Roll Mountain Troll,” there is perhaps too much weight given to the song’s strange subject matter and not enough to dynamic songwriting. However, its driving chorus picks up the pace briskly enough to make for a nice 60s-via-2010s piece of indie-pop. So although I didn’t get Tell It To The Volcano 2, I did get a clear vision of the band’s truest ideals. Happily, Fortress definitely carves out an interesting niche for Miniature Tigers....full text |
| Uwire |
| Miniature Tigers’ airy pop music paired with its lighthearted tales of past lovers made its debut album, Tell It to the Volcano, perfect for ushering in the hotter seasons. Fortress, the band’s second full-length album, is a bit of a departure from its first release but still captures the heat and carefree nature of summer. At first listen, I was disappointed to find that Miniature Tigers had abandoned the simple melodies found in Tell It to the Volcano to experiment with an array of different instruments in Fortress. For “Goldskull,” the first single off Fortress, the boys teamed up with Texas’ own Alan Palomo of Neon Indian to produce a song that is truer to Palomo’s popular electronic style than the band’s own signature sound. Still, the song is catchy and, unlike their old songs, worth dancing to — revealing the band’s widened range. Fortunately, the rest of the album is only moderately influenced by the band’s newfound style and does a better job of weaving in new elements with its original steel guitar and drum sounds. Songs such as “Bullfighter Jacket” and “Japanese Woman Living in My Closet” draw the listener in from the get-go by planting hooks in the beginning of the song. Yet, they continue to captivate the audience with their peculiar, but unfortunately shallow, lyrics....full text |
| Somuchsilence |
| We don’t have a song yet, but we do have what appears to be the album artwork – tweeted by singer Charlie Brand – for the forthcoming Miniature Tigers album, Fortress, the follow-up to the very catchy and popular debut Tell It to the Volcano. (I presume, like Volcano, the Fortress artwork was created by drummer Rick Schaier, also the man behind Alvin Band.) Fortress, co-produced by Chris Chu of the Morning Benders, is due out sometime this summer on the Phoenix-bred Modern Art Records label, a new partner of Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group. Short of having a tracklisting, I can only assume some of the new material the band has tested out over the past year or so – like Lolita or Egyptian Robe and Dark Tower – will find its way onto the 10-song Fortress. We do know the first single is called Gold Skull (featuring Neon Indian) and will be released in May....full text |
Miniature Tigers lyrics
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