About
Olive Tiger is an evolution of sound and texture: a nontraditional trio that lushly combines electronics with organic elements of chamber-pop, defying the boundaries of genre in favor of obsessive exploration. Grounded in stunning songwriting, Olive Tiger arcs continuously toward more meticulous, more rich and more seductive arrangements, creating detail-rich songs that evoke a broad spectrum of images and emotions. Translated into the language of the band, the result is a soundscape in which captivating risks and unpredictable melodies are the norm.
Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Olive Tiger features an unusual collection of instrumentation from Olive (cello, guitar, vocals), Jesse Newman (violin, synths, electronics), and John McGrath (drums, percussion). In 2016, the group asserted its powers and range with their debut full-length record, Until My Body Breaks, pulling thoughtfully from artists like Andrew Bird, St. Vincent, Tune-Yards, and Angel Olsen.
Olive Tiger leads their next series of releases with the explosive single “The Boys”, a disarmingly sunny dissection of gender disparity, out everywhere 10/23/20. The single is the opening statement in a series of EPs slated for release in 2021, starting with Softest Eyes which is expected January 2021.
Even the band’s most electronic offerings are grounded deeply in the human and the vulnerable: as a professional music therapist, Olive mindfully engages with music as an emotional transaction of energy, drawing from a full and complex range of human experiences. Listeners have responded, placing Olive Tiger among Connecticut’s most notable up-and-coming musicmakers.
Olive Tiger has garnered growing attention for its work; in January 2017 the band was named Emerging Artist of the Month by The Deli Magazine, and received a 2017 nomination for Best in State during the New England Music Awards. Olive Tiger was also honored with a 2018 Artist Excellence Fellowship Award from The Connecticut Office of the Arts. Olive Tiger has shared the stage with a growing roster of notable musicians including Dirty Projectors, Kishi Bashi, Xenia Rubinos, and Kyp Malone (of TV on the Radio).
Because sometimes when I play music, every fiber of my being vibrates and expands and brims until the immensity of existence pours from my eyes and time slows down and the breath leaving my body extends from every cell and at that moment, nothing else exists.— Olive
Their songs are hypnotic, often burrowing into the listener's consciousness with irresistible repeated lyrical phrases, musical drones, and richly vibrant instrumentation.
— The Arts Paper, (Hank Hoffman), "Music Is The Connection: Olive Tiger's Songs Transcend Genre"
Love standard fare indie rock, but wish there was something more? Enter Olive Tiger, a prolific songwriting trio, featuring non-standard instrumentation of orchestral strings, electronics, and more. Their debut album Until My Body Breaks expands on indie/pop sensibilities to create something new. At times heavily orchestrated, while keeping at its core a simple and compelling singer/songwriter feel, Olive Tiger keeps you on your toes, throughout.
— The Deli Magazine (Brian Varneke), "New Haven's Olive Tiger Releases Impressive Debut, Until My Body Breaks"
Several of my friends have recommended I catch the New Haven-based Olive Tiger and I immediately understood why. A mixture of plucking, strumming and bow work on the cello combined with ethereal looped vocals transfixed the already tightly packed Ballroom.
— Surviving the Golden Age, (Audra Napolitano), "Kishi Bashi at The Ballroom, Hamden, CT"
Olive Tiger delivers a soulful and dynamic take on electro-folk that showcases their musicianship, from stunning, stripped-down ballads like “Lament” – capturing their early, acoustic-folk leanings – to lush, intricately looped tracks like their lead single, “Find Myself,” that harken to hip-hop, glitching and flowing in the band’s new direction.
— The Cut-Up, (Danielle Capalbo), "A Healing Sound: Olive Tiger’s debut album ‘Until My Body Breaks’"
Olive Tiger might be one of the greatest things to happen to music since Courtney Barnett.
— AudioFuzz, (Phil King), "Darkly Entertaining: Olive Tiger, 'Find Myself'"