Brooklyn-based
Miniature Tigers are a quirky baroque and synth pop outfit centered on singer/songwriter
Charlie Brand. Formed in
Brand's hometown of Phoenix, Arizona in 2006, the group initially began as a solo bedroom-recording project. The resulting material paired his acoustic guitar with a wide range of pop influences --
the Cars' strut,
Weezer's snark,
Phil Spector's polish -- and
Miniature Tigers soon inked a deal with Modern Art Records, a label co-founded by fellow Phoenix-based group
Chronic Future. With drummer Rick Schaier, guitarist Algernon Quashie, and bassist Alex Gerber also on board,
Miniature Tigers released the breezy
Tell It to the Volcano in September 2008.
Between the cross-country tours that followed,
Miniature Tigers found enough downtime to pull up stakes and move to Brooklyn, where
Brand began writing songs that were more experimental and ambitious, with a wider range of instrumentation. Members of
Neon Indian and
the Morning Benders were enlisted to produce the material, which was recorded in upstate New York and released in summer 2010 as
Fortress. In 2012,
Miniature Tigers showcased even more stylistic growth, weaving in '80s new wave influences on the synthy, dance-oriented
Mia Pharaoh. Two years later, they delivered the similarly disco and synth pop-infused
Cruel Runnings, featuring production from Chris Zane (
Walkmen,
Passion Pit). After a brief hiatus, they returned in 2017 with I Dreamt I Was a Cowboy, a loosely structured concept album about being in love. ~ Andrew Leahey