Here’s an article from Montreal-based site Panpot.ca, featuring reflections on early records that influenced Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner, Signal to Noise’s Peter Gershon, Sir Richard Bishop of Sun City Girls, Fond of Tigers’ own Stephen Lyons, and others.
Sometimes, there really is nothing in a name. Take acclaimed Vancouver instrumental septet Fond of Tigers, for example. Far from making a statement of solidarity with endangered species, guitarist/founder/leader Stephen Lyons is somewhat ambivalent about cats.
Here’s a review of our show in Victoriaville, Quebec (May 20th, 2007), written by John Kelman in All About Jazz:
A hallmark of FIMAV is its interest in groups that defy categorization and cross-pollinate styles so heavily as to frustrate any attempts at labeling. Vancouver’s Fond of Tigers incorporated a wide spectrum of influences—the irregular-metered complexity of progressive rock, the minimalist interlacing of melodic fragments, occasional ambience, a non-soloing collective approach to improvisation…and a hardcore energy and volume level that made for an intensely visceral experience. Read the rest of this entry »
Fond of Tigers A Long Way to Temporary
By Vish Khanna
Vancouver’s Fond of Tigers follow one explosive record with another, though this EP finds the seven-piece messing with familiar patterns in measured tones. Repetition serves Fond of Tigers well, as the group latch onto intriguing progressions with stirring time signatures, exploring them for all they’re worth. Guitarist Stephen Lyons often lays the foundation with his jagged parts, cutting through a polyrhythmic melee that leaves enough space for J.P. Carter’s soaring trumpet and Jesse Zubot’s inventive violin parts. Read the rest of this entry »
