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Tigermilk

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This article is about the album by Belle and Sebastian. For the Chilean musical project, see Tigermilk (musical project).
"The State I Am In" redirects here. For other uses, see State I Am In.

Tigermilk
Studio album by
Belle and Sebastian
Released6 June 1996
Recorded4–6 March 1996
StudioCaVa Studios, Glasgow
Genre
Length41:37
LabelElectric Honey
Producer
  • Belle and Sebastian
  • Gregor Reid
Belle and Sebastian chronology
Tigermilk
(1996) 		If You're Feeling Sinister
(1996)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Guardian[2]
NME8/10[3]
Pitchfork8.4/10(1999)[4]
8.5/10 (2020)[5]
Q[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
The Times9/10[9]
Uncut[10]
The Village VoiceA−[11]

Tigermilk is the 1996 debut album from Scottish pop group Belle and Sebastian. Originally given a limited release (1,000 copies) by Electric Honey, the album was subsequently re-released in 1999 by Jeepster Records.

The album is named after an instrumental that did not end up on the album – it was later performed on Belle and Sebastian's early tours. All of the songs on the album were written by Stuart Murdoch between 1993 and 1996, and originally performed solo on the Glasgow open mic circuit. Though he performs on the album, trumpet player Mick Cooke was not then an official member of the band.

Recording and production

At the time Stuart Murdoch began recruiting musicians for the band, drummer Richard Colburn was in a Music Business course at Stow College with professor Alan Rankine. Each year the class would produce one record on the college's Electric Honey label as an example to use in the course. Murdoch and Colburn provided a demo tape the group had recorded titled 'Rhode Island' (later released as the Dog on Wheels EP) and the college was extremely impressed and chose to support them in creating a full album.[12]

Stuart Murdoch recalls that the group was still quite loose knit at the time Tigermilk was recorded and that the full ensemble had not played together before getting into the studio. Many of the supporting instrument parts were shaped as the group recorded. After recording, though, "we were a group, no question."[13]

Nine of the ten songs featured on the album was recorded live over a three-day period, followed by two days of mixing. The only track not recorded during these sessions, "Electronic Renaissance", originated as a demo Murdoch made at Beatbox using Cubase, and was mastered directly from a cassette recording Murdoch had made of the song being played on a local radio station, hence its' lo-fidelity sound. Due to its' stylistic difference from the other songs, its inclusion on the album initially proved controversial.

The album's cover photograph was taken by Stuart Murdoch and features Joanne Kenney (his girlfriend at the time).[13] Kenney also appeared on the cover of the Dog on Wheels EP.

Legacy

Tigermilk was well-received upon its initial release, and earned a glowing review from Scottish culture magazine The List, who gave the band their first national press.[14] The album has since sold over 124,000 copies.[15] Pitchfork included "The State I Am In" at number 17 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s.[16] The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[17]

An eBay charity auction of the stuffed animal in the cover art of the Tigermilk album in 2019 [18] was won by Lisa Carr of Washington, DC. Lisa Carr had also previously won an auction for bandleader Stuart Murdoch's car in 2002 [19] and an auction of the stuffed animal on the cover of Dog on Wheels in 2004.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Stuart Murdoch

No.TitleLength
1."The State I Am In"4:57
2."Expectations"3:34
3."She's Losing It"2:22
4."You're Just a Baby"3:40
5."Electronic Renaissance"4:50
6."I Could Be Dreaming"5:56
7."We Rule the School"3:27
8."My Wandering Days Are Over"5:25
9."I Don't Love Anyone"3:56
10."Mary Jo"3:30
Total length:41:37

Personnel

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Tigermilk – Belle and Sebastian". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  2. ^ Cox, Tom (23 July 1999). "Belle and Sebastian: Tigermilk (Jeepster)". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  3. ^ Segal, Victoria (10 July 1999). "Grrr Power". NME. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  4. ^ Chanko, Chip (July 1999). "Belle and Sebastian: Tigermilk". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 15 January 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  5. ^ Hogan, Marc (1 November 2020). "Belle and Sebastian: Tigermilk". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  6. ^ Maconie, Stuart (September 1999). "Belle & Sebastian: Tigermilk". Q (156): 124. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  7. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2 September 1999). "Tigermilk". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  8. ^ Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Belle and Sebastian". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 59–60. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ^ Costa, Maddy (3 July 1999). "Belle and Sebastian: Tigermilk (Jeepster)". The Times. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  10. ^ Aiken, Kit (August 1999). "They're grrrreat!". Uncut (27). Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (28 March 2000). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  12. ^ Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister. Pitchfork Classic. 2013. Event occurs at 13:20.
  13. ^ a b Murdoch, Stuart. "Sleevenotes - Tigermilk". Belle & Sebastian.
  14. ^ http://archive.list.co.uk.s3-website.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/the-list/1996-05-31/44/
  15. ^ Plagenhoef, Scott (15 September 2007). Belle & Sebastian's If You're Feeling Sinister. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 9781441194909.
  16. ^ "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 20-01". Pitchfork.
  17. ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  18. ^ "Belle and Sebastian Auction Tigermilk Cover Stuffed Animal for Charity". Pitchfork. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Bell & Sebs: £4k to Save the World". DrownedInSound. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
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