About
Olive Tiger is an evolution of sound and texture: a nontraditional rock 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 hypnotic soundscapes in which captivating risks and unpredictable melodies are the norm.
Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Olive Tiger features an unusual collection of instrumentation featuring 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. Their sophomore collection Softest Eyes, divided into three EPs, begins with Softest Eyes: Side A, released in July of 2021.
Softest Eyes: Side A features four distinctly-crafted tracks ranging from disarmingly sunny to alluringly moody, drawing from a full and complex range of human experiences. Striking song arrangements swell and blossom, weaving visceral textures and gauzy atmosphere that will engage the listener with each repeated listen. Even the band’s most electronic offerings are grounded deeply in the human and the vulnerable: each song is a journey drawing from the well of hardship and traveling through catharsis into clarity.
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), and has garnered growing attention for its work. The band was named Emerging Artist of the Month by The Deli Magazine, and received a nomination for Best in State for the New England Music Awards. Olive Tiger was also honored with an Artist Excellence Fellowship Award from The Connecticut Office of the Arts.
Softest Eyes: Side A is for fans of Lucy Dacus, Sylvan Esso, Jeff Buckley, Radiohead, and Angel Olsen.
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'"