The Kind of Goodnight

Not to be confused with the similarly named Native American folk-rock outfit from Florida (who lack the exclamation points), Tiger! Tiger! is a side project fronted by Buffi Guero and Suzanne Gibboney, the former drummer and bassist, respectively, for Atlanta garage-surf combo the Vendettas. Tiger! Tiger! is primarily a showcase for Guero, who writes the songs, plays rhythm guitar, and handles most of the lead vocals. (Gibboney and lead guitarist and saxophonist Shane Pringle sing a song apiece. A fellow former Vendetta, organist Sam Leyja and drummer Mario Colangelo round out the lineup.) Stepping a ways beyond the members' garage rock roots, The Kind of Goodnight is a punchy R&B-based mod-soul album more in the early style of U.K. stalwarts like Them, the Pretty Things, and the Small Faces. (This is a huge step forward from the awkward half-measures of the first Tiger! Tiger! album, 2006's Collisions, which was recorded with a slightly different lineup that included a full-time cellist.) The songs are danceable in a way that garage rock almost never is, led by Gibboney's upfront bass work and Leyja's funky rhythmic strut. Over these pleasantly retro grooves, Guero makes it plain that even if the far more renowned Amy Winehouse gets her act together, she's got serious competition in the bad-girl soul department: the saucy "The First Thing" and the seething kiss-off "Cheap Imitation" roll like Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" minus the implicit self-pity. Elsewhere, the band tosses out straightforward, super-catchy rock & roll (standout first single "Black Daggers"), dramatic girl-group ballads in the Shangri-Las style ("How Much Can You Take?"), punky mod rave-ups (the Pringle showcase "Misfortune, Bad Weather and Debt"), and vintage organ-driven pure pop ("Pretty Perjury"), without sounding like they're trying too hard to be eclectic. Guero is in outstanding voice throughout, and The Kind of Goodnight is tremendous fun for listening and dancing alike.