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What’s up Sorry Staters?
Things have felt kinda hectic around SSR HQ lately. As for me, I just can’t believe we’re right smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. December really crept up on me this year. I’ve already seen some people posting online about their “best of 2023” lists, and I’m like: “WTF?? ALREADY???” I’m not even close to feeling prepared to even think about that yet. I’m still trying to figure out where the last few months have gone. It’s a weird feeling, being unprepared for the coming new year. Whatever.
I’m writing my addition to the newsletter late this round. I’m sitting behind the counter at the store and it’s raining. Another quiet, dreary ass Sunday. But at least there’s a new Tiikeri release! Damn, have I written in the newsletter about every Tiikeri record since we’ve started stocking them here at Sorry State? Whoopsie. I don’t know what it is, man. Especially around this time of year when it starts getting colder, I just gravitate toward listening to easily digestible jams that put me in a good mood. I mean even right now, I’m listening to the first Kim Wilde record as I’m opening the store! (a new wave banger top to bottom, but that’s for another newsletter). But Tiikeri has definitely fallen into that “puts me in a good mood” rotation as of late.
Now, even though I’m a fan, one of the criticisms I’ve made about Tiikeri’s sonic brand of punk and style of songwriting is that they could easily fall into the “way too pop punk for me” category. Have they finally reached a new stratosphere with this new batch of tunes? I guess it’s a weird move to have a “staff recommendation” and kick it off with a judgement. I’m just curious to see if other fans of Tiikeri agree with me. I mean, tell me I’m wrong: When I was listening to the 2nd track “Punk Rock – Hitti!!!” they do this one chord change where I found myself scratching my head. Then, they repeat this same motif a few times in a row at the end of the song… Then, it instantly clicked. I blurted out loud, “FUUUUCK, it’s Green Day.” The way they do the ending sounds just like “Basket Case.” (Chubb, you readin?) It can’t be a coincidence. They did that on purpose. It honestly made me chuckle. These Finns with pop songwriting chops know exactly what they’re doing. 70’s KBD MY ASS!! Nah, I’m just kidding. The songs are still really good and have that enthusiastic, uplifting peculiarity that keeps me interested.
Shit, I’ve blabbed on about Tiikeri for so long that I failed to even mention that this is a split 7”! The band on the flip-side of the record is called Vänsuut. Musically, this band sharing a platter with Tiikeri is a match made in heaven. Very fitting combo. But Vänsuut is maybe a little rougher around the edges. Their songs are certainly still super tuneful, but maybe a little more out of tune, a little more raw, and just generally less squeaky clean than their buddies on the other side of the record. For me though, I find the Vänsuut side very refreshing after the sweetness of Tiikeri. I’m not sure I prefer Vänsuut side exactly, but now I feel like I’ve got a new band to seek out other releases by. And actually, they might be even more authentically vintage KBD sounding than Tiikeri, if I do say so myself. Funny enough, even though they’re certainly trying to emulate early Finnish punk like Ratsia or something, it was a big surprise to find out that they’re Japanese! Pretty cool. Good work fellas.
Anyway, I’ll wrap it up. Not sure if Daniel will want us to an “end of 2023” roundup in the upcoming newsletter (or the one after?), but I need to start reviewing what records I even remember listening to this year. Hoping to jam some Tiikeri and Vänsuut and keep the spirits positive while having a nice holiday. Hope all of you readers do the same. Cheers.
As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff