Brothertiger, by Brothertiger

Brothertiger

by Brothertiger

supported by

cloudrockinfromIowa I love the self-reflection of the song. I love every song; Brothertiger is the soundtrack to my existence never gets old; nuances experienced daily, suggesting I have a favorite track is like suggesting which of my children I have a favorite, it's impossible.. Immense love from Iowa Favorite track: Be True.

christianlandaeta Brilliant melodies, vocals and sound quality on cd as well as on the vinyl pressing. A truly great and surprising find in times where there's so many projects and bands out there. A most talented composer and performer this Brothertiger is. For synth-pop lovers of yesterday and today.Grab your copy before it's gone! Favorite track: Arizona.

mlwre the most fun project to come out of Brothertiger to date. Favorite track: Arizona.

more...

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$10 USD or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Brothertiger's self-titled, 5th album is available on limited "Earth" blue & green galaxy vinyl.

Limit of 2 vinyl per order. Actual vinyl color may vary.

Includes unlimited streaming of Brothertiger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

Purchasable with gift card

$23 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Brothertiger's self-titled, 5th album is available on limited CD-ROM. Comes packaged in wallet case.

Includes unlimited streaming of Brothertiger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

ships out within 5 days

Purchasable with gift card

$12 USD or more
Full Digital Discography

28

releases

Get all 28 Brothertiger releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Fundamentals, Vol. V, Brothertiger Plays: Tears for Fears' Songs From the Big Chair, Brothertiger, Fundamentals: The Anthology, Fundamentals, Vol. IV, Torn Open (feat. Yvette Young), New Life, Heaven, and 20 more. , and , .

Purchasable with gift card

$119.85 USD or more (15% OFF)
Limited Edition "Tangerine" Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Brothertiger's self-titled, 5th album is available on limited "Tangerine" orange vinyl.

Limit of 2 vinyl per shipment. Actual vinyl color may vary slightly.

Includes unlimited streaming of Brothertiger via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Sold Out

1.	Tangerine 05:18	lyrics	buy track
Escaping on a trip I’ll run away with you Save me from the grip of the modern age If this is how life is Feelin’ like I need a holiday Do you? Balancing the deadlines all the way Metaphysical asylum Cool tangerine Back to you, my deliverance Blue Caribbean Cuz of you I’m still livin’ Breaking down the hits Will I remain cool? Save me from the grip of the modern age So this is how life is And when it all crumbles I’ll fall away To the blue Filling up my now with yesterday Is it true? Cool tangerine Back to you, my deliverance Blue Caribbean Cuz of you I’m still livin’ Been livin’ like I’ve already won Do I look fancy to you? Ascending to the highest rung Understanding what to do Been livin’ like I’ve already won Do I look fancy to you? Pretending I’m the number one I’m romancing the truth
2.	Be True 03:47	lyrics	buy track
Always be true Ring true like a bell Resonate through you Elevate myself I’m like an island Swimmin’ in the swell of the silence Never thought I’d ever feel like this I can feel the sun at its highest See it hanging on the horizon Opening ‘cross the sea like an iris Never thought I’d ever feel like this I finally built the walls around me Completely up surrounding Finally built the walls around me Completely up I’m like a pilot Steering through a sea of asylum Reckoning to decide what I am Maybe I am part of the problem I can feel the dawn, recognize it Feel it ever on the horizon Forward into the mouth of the siren Never thought I’d ever feel like this
3.	Arizona 04:10	lyrics	buy track
Check out of the hotel I’m leaving for a new day, I am Driving through Arizona by myself Another swing through the Sun Belt Swimming through the desert air I’m floating down the 10 going nowhere Pulling off to see the canyons carve through there I am a boy without a care I am racing through America Celebrate the route of life Heading towards America I live for the long drive A hand in the cool breeze The lights on the highway calm me Heading down 35 at steady speed I am alone on a calm sea Wind whippin’ through my hair Don’t even know the timezone, I don’t care I’m alone the horizons calling there Out on the road going nowhere
4.	Yesterdays (feat. Spencer Chamberlain) 04:09	lyrics	buy track
Rolling along in my yesterdays Throwing it all away It’s a funny little world I wonder why Some people climb While others fall hard It’s a funny little world I wonder why Some people fly But they don’t fly far If anyone can see me Come into the light Don’t recognize this feeling I need someone to run it by If anyone can hear me Call into the night Frustrated and defeated I need a bit of paradise
5.	Heaven 04:50	lyrics	buy track
I came to see your presence Didn’t realize what I got into I failed to heed the message I opened up my eyes to a different view They say the word becomes the weapon How do you recognize the pain in you? I lost my way to heaven A new state of mind that I fell into There’s a new day on the rise And I’m coming back to life Concede my imperfections I feel a desire that is cutting through Sustain my own direction Commit to the fire that they burn in you They say the word becomes the message Do you recognize the blame in you? I found my way to heaven A new way of life that I’m living through Paint me a picture Follow my plan Tracing the lines On the palm of your hand Anything goes in the promised land Take what you want to While you can
6.	Dancer on the Water 03:52	lyrics	buy track
Dancer on the water Moving like you do Cool ocean blue carries you Sun up above shining through I drift through the streets All alone at night An escape for me A moment I like Escape to you From the streets so gray Cuz I’m not a city boy anyway I’m through I’ll try to remember you One more sullen sky I’m through I’ll try to remember you We’ll watch as the boats go by I drift through the streets Feel the rhythm of the night The strain on me Taking over my life Afraid to lose In this frivolous game But I’m gonna swim for it anyway I’m through I’ll try to remember you One more sullen sky I’m through I’ll try to remember you We’ll watch as the boats go by
7.	Summer Wave '98 03:33	lyrics	buy track
They say life can be a surprise for you I'm stuck in this house I’ve got nothing to do Nothing to see But I’ve got something to say Go out to the streets In the break of day A grind is a grind It’s what I do Seven days a week I’ve got something to prove Sneak out of the back door Into the blue The sun in the sky it shines on you Sunday afternoon, afternoon Sunday I just wanna see ya Wanna see ya, wanna see ya Out in the daylight Monday afternoon, afternoon Monday I just wanna be, yea Wanna be, yea wanna be, yea Wanna be alright Hop onto the bikes Head out to the park Ridin’ with the boys Stay out ‘til dark Kickin’ on the benches What do ya say? How’s it gonna be when you move away? Jump out of the seat let it ghost ride now Ridin’ down the street til the sun goes down I can make a beat to the bumps on the wheels While the streetlights guide the way Someday will the ground beneath me fall away? One way or another I’ll fade into the night Someday, I will leave here someday Go far away to see another side of life
8.	New Life 04:24	lyrics	buy track
Turn me over, turn me over, turn me oh I wanna feel the wave I feel something else Pulling me back into the grind I gotta get away There you go, there you go, there you go Another lonely day Another hopeless form Bringing me back down to the wire I can’t float away Sometimes you evolve Move right through it all Is this life always just do or die? Through life you will fall Hang tight, you’ll evolve Am I going all in? Yea, I am Sometimes you evolve Move right through it all Is this all a waste of a good time? Through life you will fall Hang tight, you’ll evolve Follow me as we race the horizon It feels funny when you call On my mobile I’m already gone I feel I’m running up the walls As the days go by Is there hope for some resolve? I don’t know I’ll sing another song As I race to beat the dawn Calibrate my life
9.	Torn Open (feat. Yvette Young) 04:00	lyrics	buy track
Do you remember Rain or shine We’d be together every day Now every day I cry Feeling I could die Cuz I never wanted you to go You know love can fade No I can’t believe it Then maybe you’re afraid How can I let go? We had a good time anyway Can’t live on memories So now you’re free Free to go Torn open Torn open again Torn open All alone in a dream Get up and switch on the radio To cheer me up and push me on But every song I hear Can only bring tears And painful memories of you Torn open Torn open again Torn open Left out in the rain Do you remember Rain or shine We’d be together every day Now ever day I cry Feeling I could die Cuz the pain inside never goes away
10.	Wallow 04:58	lyrics	buy track
Fly, fly away Far away from here To the farthest reach you can To the silence This asylum This barren outer edge I’m alot like you I embrace the blue I descend into the depths Feeling slighted In this silence Am I losing it? Am I? I found paradise I prayed for deliverance I was lost in the woods I was blind Yes I crawled through the wire I changed in an instant Living life by the book I was fine Break me down I don’t care Wallow in the summer air Ghosts surround me Are you there? Wallow in the summer air Free for the first time I swear that I’m different I’m living on the outside I’m feigning existence

about

A windows-down car ride through the desert. Graceful surfers shredding blue swells. A suburban road lit only by streetlamps. The big round sun, shimmering over a distant horizon. These are just a few of the images conjured by Brothertiger, the stunning new album from the Brooklyn-based electronic artist of the same name.

Collecting a handful of singles released over the past year and a half, plus several unheard tracks, the album sees John Jagos, a.k.a. Brothertiger, moving through his chillwave roots and into the refined glitz of sophisti-pop, a UK-born microgenre that owes its ’80s and ’90s heyday to key releases by groups like Prefab Sprout and Scritti Politti. Brothertiger’s take on the style is pure escapism — immaculately engineered, retro-leaning songs for romantic vagabonds and urbane daydreamers alike. It might be the most impressive set of songs that Jagos has ever made.

Jagos has released four full-lengths under the Brotheriger alias, a figure that doesn’t even account for multiple EPs, a Tears for Fears cover album, or his four-volume series of livestreamed improvisations called Fundamentals. Still, Jagos decided to give his newest album the self-titled treatment, a move typically reserved for an artist’s debut project. After spending time with the record’s maximalist soundscapes, and after hearing Jagos discuss the deeply personal creativity that fueled the production, it’s easy to understand his thinking: the Brothertiger LP is a testament to Jagos’ technical gifts, a polished culmination of his ambitious experiments and nostalgic obsessions. But it’s also an introduction to a playful new era for a songwriter whose synthpop has often skewed broody and introspective.

Like a lot of artistic city-dwellers, Jagos spent the early days of the pandemic in a restless state. That changed after he scoured eBay for vintage gear, impulsively snagging some sophisti-pop-era synths and samplers manufactured by a now-defunct company called Ensoniq. Armed with a wacky new vocabulary of sounds, Jagos wrote “Dancer on the Water,” an elegant, up-tempo coastal fantasy with lustrous synths and pan flute flourishes. When he released the track as a one-off in spring 2021, new fans and longtime listeners were smitten by its unselfconscious optimism, by its throwback, feel-good energy. “I was like, I want to make music like this for a while and see what happens,” Jagos explains.

What “happened” was a kind of magic: new songs spilled out of him with an unexpected ease. Jagos wrote the album’s fist-pumping centerpiece, “Heaven,” about the spiritual burnout he experienced after growing up in the Catholic Church. First-half highlight “Be True” pairs encouraging lyrics about self-sufficiency with sappy piano chords and chintzy synth arpeggios. If the hooks weren’t so crisp, or if Jagos didn’t sound so convincing, this mode might scan as melodramatic. In his hands, it’s legitimately moving. “I felt more connected to my songwriting than I've ever felt before,” he remembers. That self-synchronicity was contagious, leading to productive sessions with unexpected collaborators, including math rock guitarist Yvette Young (Covet) and metalcore icon Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath), both of whom Jagos connected with via Instagram. Young joins Brothertiger for a euphoric cover of a little-known 1987 track by British siblings Sophie & Peter Johnston, while Chamberlain contributes uncharacteristically subdued vocals to the midtempo, Tears for Fears-esque “Yesterdays.”

Jagos and his co-producer Jon Markson (Drug Church, Cathedral Bells, Can’t Swim) took the minutiae of production extremely seriously, a practice that’s audible across Brothertiger’s meticulous arrangements; every hi-hat and pitch-warped sample feels deliberate and essential. “I’m really proud of the level of detail,” Jagos says. “There’s a lot of ear candy everywhere.” But Jagos was also conscious about leaving space for kitsch and absurdity, often embracing the inherent cheesiness of his slick influences: the verse rhythm of “Summer Wave 98,” for example, recalls the sing-spoken schmaltz of millenium mega-hits by Vitamin C and LFO. This resolution to not take himself “too seriously” also manifests in Brothertiger’s lyrics. Been livin’ like I’ve already won / Do I look fancy to you? / Pretending I’m the number one, he croons on opener “Tangerine,” a track that includes a steamy synth-guitar solo fit for a power ballad, the kind of song you might hear in the credits of a big ’80s blockbuster.

“Trying to be less serious about the music business is a big theme,” Jagos explains. “I'm not trying to conform to the specific ideals the algorithm machine wants me to be a part of; I’m just trying to make music that sounds good.” Listening to the room-filling songs on Brothertiger, it feels safe to say that he succeeded.

credits

released November 4, 2022

Produced by Brothertiger & Jon Markson
Mastered by Jason Livermore
Cover painting and innersleeve photo by John Jagos, Sr.
Physical artwork and layout by Steven Duke
Label photo by Evan Reed

license

about

Brothertiger New York

mgmt
evan@satanicpanicrecordings.com

booking (americas)
ricky@visionarytalentgroup.com

press (us)
daniel@forcefieldpr.com

contact / help

Contact Brothertiger

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Brothertiger, you may also like:

Atlas
by FM-84

supported by 80 fans who also own “Brothertiger”

Great album and peak 80's early 90's nostalgia. kain187
go to album
Monsters
by The Midnight

supported by 55 fans who also own “Brothertiger”

Just had to get this on vinyl although I've been listening to this album for a couple of years already.... now it can take it rightful place beside " Endless Summer!"🧔 Knut -Thomas
go to album
Heroes
by The Midnight

supported by 54 fans who also own “Brothertiger”

This is a special band. Got to see these guys in concert and got to meet one of them casually at a small bar, and they are a talented, class act through-and-through. This is a joyous record with anthemic songs for those days when you need a lift. Timpy
go to album
Hey Sexy
by Oceanside85

Sharp-edged synthwave abounds on this LP from Oceanside85, pairing pulsing beats with racing electronics. Bandcamp New & Notable Nov 14, 2021
go to album
Trade Secrets
by Dragon Inn 3

The Dragon Inn 3’s Yaz cover gives a good idea of what to expect here: bright, bubbly throwback synthpop with irresistible hooks. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 29, 2023
go to album
Memory Box
by Rodney Cromwell

Adam Cresswell (Saloon, Arthur & Martha) builds ARP strings, drum samples, and krautrock grooves into a magical-realist synthpop collage. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 6, 2022
go to album
Palmscapes
by Hotel Pools

supported by 41 fans who also own “Brothertiger”

My go-to relaxation album, I love those hazy summer vibes that I can just melt right into. Kaito-kun
go to album