Tigers Jaw transforms Karl Hall in Wilkes-Barre for free virtual record release show on March 5
From a press release:
While most Northeastern Pennsylvania music venues are still shut down due to the pandemic, Tigers Jaw hasn’t let that stop them from putting together a special record release show for their fans locally and all over the world.
The Scranton-based indie rock group recently took over one of their favorite venues, Karl Hall in downtown Wilkes-Barre, and recorded a concert that will premiere this Friday, March 5 at 8 p.m. on the Hopeless Records YouTube channel. The new album, titled “I Won’t Care How You Remember Me,” will be performed in its entirety.
“To celebrate our new album, this show is free! This is a pre-recorded live performance, so we’ll be watching along, heckling ourselves, answering questions, and hanging out in the chat room. If you want to support our band further, in lieu of tickets, you can head to our merch store and purchase $5 raffle tickets to try and win an autographed test pressing of the new album. Good luck and see you at the show!” the band posted on social media.
“Karl Hall was ecstatic to host our friends Tigers Jaw for their live recorded performance of their new album! Make sure you tune in to YouTube on Friday and see how they transformed the venue into a brilliant creative space!” the venue added.
The photo on the poster features props from their “Hesitation” music video, among other carefully placed objects, so expect their DIY aesthetic to give the intimate stage a distinctly Tigers Jaw look.
Leading up to this concert, the band will host “virtual in-stores” via Zoom this week, including one to support the local Gallery of Sound stores. These five COVID-safe events will include acoustic performances of two to three songs and 15-minute moderated Q&A sessions. The schedule is as follows:
Wednesday, March 3
7 p.m.: Gallery of Sound
9 p.m.: Smartpunk
Thursday, March 4
3 p.m.: Banquet Records
7 p.m.: Newbury Comics
9 p.m.: Zia Records
Fans who pre-order the album through these participating independent record stores and retailers are guaranteed entry, and each shop is carrying an exclusive vinyl variant; the Gallery of Sound has a bone, maroon, and orange striped LP that is available to purchase now. Once the order is placed, a unique code will be sent to access the show.
Over the past few months, Tigers Jaw has been releasing singles from “I Won’t Care How You Remember Me” along with some creative music videos, such as “Lemon Mouth,” “Cat’s Cradle,” “Hesitation,” and “New Detroit,” receiving coverage and praise from the New York Times, Pitchfork, NPR Music, Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Uproxx, Under the Radar, and more. They even chronicled the process of filming “Hesitation” in a four-part video series.
Produced by the band and longtime collaborator Will Yip, the record finds the group at the height of their powers, fusing their collective skills with the synchronicity and energy they honed over several years of nonstop touring. Whereas their latest output, 2017’s “Spin,” was replete with several dense layers of instruments and vocals, “I Won’t Care” pushes the elements of liveliness and human connectivity forward. This back-to-the-basement approach resulted in a new songwriting dynamic.
While “Spin” found Walsh and Collins splitting writing duties, “I Won’t Care” marks the first time all four members shared songwriting input. The band’s most sonically ambitious and lyrically affecting album to date, “I Won’t Care How You Remember Me” sees a newfound freshness and creative freedom crystalizing the lush world of Tigers Jaw.
While at first the title track – featuring Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull on backing vocals – seemed to be an unapologetically defiant statement, it ended up carrying a greater significance for the band, who rallied around it as a sentiment of shared personal renaissance that sets the tone for the album, as well as the band as a whole.
“This album is a hopeful time capsule of a band who has been through a lot together. It’s about growth, self-reflection, and figuring out how to be present in the moment to really take stock of what’s important, without getting sidetracked by the opinions of others or things out of our control,” Walsh explained.
“Tigers Jaw can get through anything and be stronger because of it. We’ve endured lots of change over the last 15 years, but a lot of things have remained consistent. We make the music we want to make, we push each other to continue evolving and growing as musicians, and we are so proud of where we are now.”
“I Won’t Care How You Remember Me” tracklist:
1. I Won’t Care How You Remember Me
2. Cat’s Cradle
3. Hesitation
4. New Detroit
5. Can’t Wait Forever
6. Lemon Mouth
7. Body Language
8. Commit
9. Never Wanted To
10. Heaven Apart
11. Anniversary
Formed in 2005, Tigers Jaw have spent the past 15 years refining their sound – unconventionally catchy riffs, the melodic intertwining of male/female vocals, and timelessly relatable lyricism – while cultivating a passionate following with live shows and tours all around the world. “Spin,” released in 2017 via Yip’s Atlantic Records imprint Black Cement Records, cemented the band as a songwriting force, earning the band their NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert debut and critical acclaim from Pitchfork, Vice/Noisey, The Fader, Stereogum, Paper Magazine, NYLON, Billboard, Brooklyn Vegan, and many more.
They returned to their hometown area in 2019 to play a sold-out acoustic show at Karl Hall and co-headlined a massive drive-in benefit concert outside Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre in 2020, just a small part of the wave of critical and commercial success they’ve received since the release of “Spin.” As the curator of Black Cement, Yip chose Tigers Jaw as the first band to be featured on the label, overseeing the creative process with Collins and Walsh, who have kept Tigers Jaw going through various incarnations.
At the end of 2019, they finally toured with The Menzingers, another Scranton band that has broken out into the mainstream. While they were friends for years and played many local shows together, they had “never done a proper tour together” until their national run with Culture Abuse.
See NEPA Scene’s photos and a review of Tigers Jaw’s 2020 Wilkes-Barre performance here and watch an exclusive interview with Brianna Collins in Episode 109 of the NEPA Scene Podcast, where she talks about Tigers Jaw’s rise to fame, what drew her to local music at a young age, tour stories and meeting bands she grew up listening to, working with Will Yip on “Spin” and “Charmer,” songwriting and the evolution of Tiger Jaw’s sound, her favorite shows, their sold-out 10th anniversary show in Scranton last year, their current lineup, and more:
