Search - Mark Robinson :: Tiger Banana

Indie Pop With A Proper Name

Graciela M. Guardado | Davis, California United States | 04/15/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After numerous bands (Unrest, Air Miami, Flin Flon, Grenadine) and various solo projects (Olympia Death Squad) Mark Robinson comes out with a proper solo album under his own name. Tiger Banana, under the Warm Series, delivers indie pop that is just as sweet as a summer's day. The songs here are an escape from the dark days of Unrest and the heavy bass sound of Flin Flon. These songs are melodic and very simple, proving that less is more. The guitar work is made of light chords but when matched with Mark's polished vocals one gets ear candy. Backed by members of Versus, Mark creates beautiful harmonies like on Volunteers Conquering Fires. I would call this track, one of the best off the album. On French Good Looks, he makes quiet sexual references but one is so captivated by the sincerity of the music it goes unnoticed. This is truely his best work in recent years. His highly experimental album Taste, under the EM series, fell on deaf ears ... or it made you deaf. It was mostly constructed of spliced sine waves which sound like the emergency broadcast system. The warm series proves to be as its name suggests. I can't wait to hear his new album, Canada's Green Highways. Tiger Banana is definetly an album any fan of TEENBEAT RECORDS should own."