Peaks | TIGUE

I had never even heard of the group TIGUE until I saw them live in February of 2019 at UMass Amherst. I took a drive up specifically to see a different group they were sharing the night with, Battle Trance, who hadn’t performed live as a group in a few years and I knew it was going to be special.

TIGUE was to come on after intermission and I almost considered leaving since I had seen what I came before. But as I watched three percussionists set up a whole array of instruments and objects across the whole stage, I knew staying would be well worth it.

Their album, Peaks, which is shared below is what they performed live. It was a blast to watch as much as listen to and I sat entranced in my seat through the whole thing.

I’m a sucker for a good polyrhythm (who isn’t, anyway), but the mastery these folks displayed in their perfectly interlocking tuplets and odd meters scratched some deep-down itch I didn’t even know I had. The whole album is groove after groove. They are fantastic and criminally underrated.

Check it out; you won’t regret it.