Setting out to save rock & roll is not an unusual ambition for a rock & roll band (although, what rock & roll needs saving from this far along is not clear), but it does seem to be the goal of each successive generation of rockers. Greensboro, NC-based band
Tiger Bear Wolf begins its self-titled debut album pondering what is worth saving, and decides, predictably, that rock & roll is. By then, the group has already embarked on the task, guitarists Jonathan Moore and Noah Howard slashing across their instruments savagely as the rhythm section of bassist Matt Bostick and drummer Lawrence Holdsworth pummel their instruments. Moore and Howard sing with raw-voiced fervor on the rest of the album, undermixed but often bobbing out to shout something aggressive. The music ranges across punk, hard rock, and heavy metal, suggesting everything from
the Ramones to the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Tiger Bear Wolf may not yet have the songs or the chops to fulfill their ambition, but they do have the attitude. The rest will come. ~ William Ruhlmann