Tijuana Panthers
Poster
INNOVATIVE LEISURE
7/10
California-inspired melodies, beachy reverb, and garage surf-rock vibes have saturated the last three Tijuana Panthers albums. Poster still falls into this sandy category, but instead of retreading the same old territory, this fourth effort finds the Long Beach trio entering a new realm of musical maturity. Layers of echoing vocals, crisp and precise bass lines, explosive percussion, and intricate fuzzed-out guitar riffs—courtesy of Chad Watchtel, Daniel Michicoff, and Phil Shaheen—run throughout the album’s twelve tracks. It would be easy to lump Tijuana Panthers’ latest LP in with the beach bum sound that’s been so popular as of late, but there’s a textured depth to Poster. Tracks like “Set Forth” and “Front Window Down” showcase how the group has managed to find a satisfying balance between walls of distortion and delicate whimsy. While you could pop Poster into your car’s CD player while a bingeing on SoCal stoner bands and it would fit right in, the innovation of TJP’s latest will shine through, putting it in a sun-kissed league of its own.
