Led by Kenn Jankowski, former guitarist for the Golden Republic, the Republic Tigers came onto the scene in the middle of last year with ravishingly gorgeous, electronic-dreaming anthems that held people in awe from the start. Even as the six-piece (now down to five) struggled to find its footing as a live band, the songs — posted on MySpace, handed out to friends and generally allowed to seep into the firmament —hit the local scene like Dr. Stanley's Purple Haze hit San Francisco in '66. "Made Concrete" — with an almost classically ordered array of acoustic guitar, handclaps, synth beats, piano, harmony vocals and myriad other sounds — became the group's first viral hit, landing on OxBlood Records' local compilation, First Blood, as well as on countless MySpace profiles. Other songs followed, including the deeply soothing "Patterns," and a full-length debut is likely to be released next year on a certain major label, which we can't discuss because the contract is not final as of this writing. We hope it works out for our Tigers, though. The world needs to hear it.
