Formed in Scranton, Pennsylvania in 2005, Tigers Jaw was formed by Ben Walsh (vocals, guitar, and drums) and Adam McIlwee (guitar, vocals) during high school. Brianna Collins (keyboards/vocals) joined soon after. For the first eight years of the band’s career, they formed the nucleus of the band. With the addition of Dennis Mishko on bass, the band released their critically successful debut album BELONGS TO THE DEAD. Walsh, who was originally the band’s drummer, moved to guitar and vocals when the band brought in drummer Pat Brier. The band issued their second album, TIGERS JAW, in 2008, followed two years later by the album TWO WORLDS (2010). Each album brought them more fans, slowly building up a large fanbase through word of mouth, critical raves, and social media. It seems everything was going smoothly… until things nearly ground to a halt.

In 2013, McIlwee, Mishko, and Brier told Walsh and Collins that they could no longer continue with Tigers Jaw. The band made the official announcement and many people expected this to be the end of the band. However, the remaining members vowed to continue as a duo. Their fourth album, CHARMER (2014), was the band’s last to feature the five-piece line-up. Walsh and Collins released their next album, SPIN (2017), as a duo before officially recruiting touring members Colin Gorman (bass) and Theodore Roberts (drums) as official members.  With renewed energy and a focus, Tigers Jaw signed with Hopeless Records and began work on their sixth album in the summer of 2020.  With all four members involved in the songwriting process, the album was bound to be not only a continuation of the band’s legacy but also a new lease on life.

I WON’T CARE HOW YOU REMEMBER ME, their seventh album, builds upon the band’s history without repeating it. Edgy when it wants to be and fun and engaging when it needs to be, the album embraces Pop, Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, and Punk-Pop with passion. The quartet isn’t afraid to tackle different genres, beginning with the acoustic Folk-Rock opening of the album’s title track before it kicks into anthemic Pop. The album’s first single “Cat’s Cradle” is sweet Pop-Punk with a hooky ‘80s synth riff weaving its way in and out of the song. Like those first two tracks, there are insanely catchy hooks throughout the albums that are inspiring. Other highlights include “Anniversary”, “Hesitation”, “Lemon Mouth”, and “Never Wanted To”. A real gem is “Heaven Apart”, a track that could have existed during the great Twee Pop movement of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The album is a revelation given the fact that it was recorded months into a pandemic that practically brought the world to a halt. Not bad for a band that had nearly come to an end eight years ago!