TIGRESS

Buy a house, find a partner, marry, have kids and settle down. “Society makes you think you must always have more,” Tigress vocalist and songwriter Katy Jackson notes with a metaphorical middle finger held high. “This is why people are unhealthy right now. Whatever you’re doing isn’t good enough.”

It’s this palpable frustration that underpins the Essex five-piece’s debut album ‘Pura Vida’, one that arrives over a decade since Tigress’ members first began making music together.

It shows in their sound. Forgoing a need to imitate contemporary success stories, the band have looked back to the previous century for inspiration. Citing 2018’s ‘Hangman’ as the catalyst for discovering the definitive Tigress sound, ‘Pura Vida’ injects a healthy dose of downtrodden grunge into their driving pop-rock. In their search for purity, the sound isn’t over-polished or over-produced, often recorded fully live by producer Adrian Bushby at Black Bay Studio on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis.

The record’s painfully melancholic ‘Starting Tomorrow’ – an unapologetic account of accepting defeat – marks such a spontaneous addition. Initially intended as a secret track or a standalone release, it was eventually captured in a single take when guitarist Sean Bishop started an impromptu performance and Adrian hit record. It’s testament to the album’s raw and real nature.