TIGERTOWN

Tigertown, the dream-pop five-piece, first began as a husband and wife duo when Chris Collins and Charlie tied the knot.

However, when it came to live performances, the pair needed a band to help out – a chore carried out by those closest to them.

“When we had to do it live, it ended up that our brothers and sisters got involved and were the only people available at the time,” says Collins.

“Before we knew it, we were all doing it.”

When it comes to Tigertown, the words “dream-pop” and “indie pop” are bandied around a lot.

“Dream-pop… I know that comes out of us trying to avoid the word folk,” Collins laughs. “When we started up, folk was everywhere, and because we had acoustic instruments, we were always falling into that.”

But Collins says the band’s key influences are 70’s pop hits.

“What we love to be similar to is the more old-fashioned pop music. Just good pop songs.

“For this record, we’ve been listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and a lot of America and classic songs that everyone still loves. We get indie pop, which is sort of like an oxymoron, but dreamy pop… I like that, I like dreamy pop.”

To record their latest EP, Tigertown shacked up in a little town past the Blue Mountains called Portland.

“We’ve actually not had all five of us in the studio before… it’s mainly been in our bedroom, our old recordings – but we all can’t fit,” says Collins.

“It sounds a lot more band-y, this EP.”

Away from the city, the quintet spent a productive week putting together their new EP, with its name still a mystery.

“I think it’ll probably end up the name of our next single… so I should probably keep it a secret.”

To whet our appetites for the time being, they will be celebrating the release of their last single, What You Came Here For, with their first national headlining tour.

They’ll be showcasing some of their elusive new material from the forthcoming EP, to be released at the end of July.

Collins says the band is looking forward to the shows in their hometown.

“We’ll be well oiled by then.” (SY)

Jul 5, The Vanguard, 42 King St, Newtown, $15-50, (02) 9557 9409, thevanguard.com.au