Tigers Jaw have grown up—both as musicians and as people—in the studio and on the road, ever since they released their debut album Belongs to the Dead in 2006. They’ve had a remarkable run since then, riding the “emo revival” (for lack of better phrasing) to prominence and weathering the departure of three founding members (guitarist Adam McIlwee, bassist Dennis Mishko, and drummer Pat Brier) in 2013 without taking more than a brief hiatus. Considering how few acts that emerge from the indie/emo underground manage to last even a few years, it isn’t hyperbolic to say they’ve beaten the odds to become a cornerstone in the scene.
Now, the Scranton, Pennsylvania-based four-piece are back with their newest full-length, I Won’t Care How You Remember Me (available March 5 on Hopeless Records). It’s a title that refers to the realization that you can’t concern yourself with what other people think about you, a sentiment that holds true for both personal and musical growth.
“You need to allow yourself that time to reflect and to figure out your priorities, and figure out who you are as a person,” says guitarist and vocalist Ben Walsh. “That translates also into who you are as a musician, as a songwriter. There’s definitely growth that you can see if you listen to our early music up until this new record. I think the whole message of this band has always just been doing things the way that feels organic and feels authentic for us.”
Now six records into their career, I Won’t Care How You Remember Me is the band’s first release where every member has songwriting credits. While their lineup has revolved around Walsh and Brianna Collins (vocals and keyboards) since 2013, touring bassist Colin Gorman and drummer Teddy Roberts joined Tigers Jaw on a permanent basis in 2019. The result is a record that is a true collective effort with the most solidified lineup they’ve ever had.
“It’s definitely been the most collaborative of any of our records in a really fun and cool way,” says Walsh.
That stability couldn’t have come at a better time – I Won’t Care How You Remember Me was finished just before COVID-19 reached North America and shut down the music industry. Not exactly ideal circumstances to face when you’re sitting on a new album, but the band stayed focused on what they could control and developed different ideas to promote the record before setting a release date, taking a wait-and-see approach to the situation.
That has meant shooting music videos (including one for the track “Lemon Mouth” which was shot and directed by Collins), performing streaming shows, and lining up virtual in-store events with record stores that carried limited-edition variants of the record on vinyl. Knock on wood that tours will resume sometime in 2021, but whenever it happens, Walsh feels that Tigers Jaw will have something special to share.
“I think there’s an energy to this record that that truly feels like a great counterpart to our live show,” he says. “With Teddy and Colin touring with us for many, many years, we’ve all played so many shows together, and we all are so familiar and trusting of each other’s musical instincts and personalities. It’s just the way that we approached this record. Everybody’s little musical nuances and personality shine through in their own way.”
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