Tiger & Woods – Through The Green review

You know you’re onto something when excited young producers try to ape your style. That’s the exact position that now-renowned disco/house mystery men Tiger & Woods find themselves in following two years of much-hyped, much-played, white label 12” releases on their own Editainment imprint.

In recent times, many have tried to copy the Tiger & Woods formula, but no one has yet come close to matching the sheer heaviness and timeless quality of their loopy, edit-heavy, feel good productions. For proof of their genius, just check this debut full-length for Gerd Jansen’s always on-point Running Back imprint. Featuring a mix of new cuts (some with equally mysterious vocalist Em) and tracks culled from their previously limited white label releases (“Gin Nation”, “Kissmetellmeagain”, “Dr Burner” etc), Through The Green offers a lesson to would-be copycats in how to turn a bagful of boogie, disco and electrofunk samples into party-rocking disco/house gold.

By now, we should all be familiar with the formula: short loops teased and tweaked beyond recognition, copious amounts of compression to ensure weighty bottom-end, and cute track construction that ekes the maximum dancefloor impact from the simplest of elements. In this respect, their tracks are extremely formulaic, but you can’t argue with the results; they’ve found a successful model and nailed it – as Through The Green brilliantly proves. As you’d expect, the beats and basslines are heavier than a skipload of sumo wrestlers after a night at an all you can eat buffet, the loops addictively hooky and the builds judged to absolute perfection. The resultant tracks – whether old or new – sound just as incendiary on your home stereo as they do in clubs.

If you were being picky – and we are – you could argue that the best material here is the stuff that’s already seen the light of day on their 12″s. You could also argue that hardcore fans could probably skip this for that exact reason. In all honesty, that would be more than a little harsh. The new material is still worthy of your attention, and Through The Green holds together very well as an album; in truth, it’s one of the most enjoyable disco/house LPs of recent years.

Matt Anniss