Tiger Army

Looking and sounding like the bastard sons of Brian Setzer and the late Joe Strummer, Tiger Army offers an enjoyably rough and thuggish variant on rockabilly. In other words, it's not just hairstyles and attitude. Add in singer Nick 13's Danzig-esque roar, and you have some wonderfully fresh takes on classic roots rock themes. The ponderously (and pretentiously) titled III: Ghost Tigers Rise goes a little overboard on the mythical veracity the band works so feverishly to promote. There is no denying the power of the music, however, as cuts like "Wonder Alone" and "Through the Darkness" merge classic hardcore themes of The Misfits with genuine nods to pioneers such as Gene Vincent and even Link Wray. Heady and heavy, Tiger Army is a stylish power trio with both a reverence for rockabilly and a defiant refusal to wallow in its clichés.