As eternal as the album is, it’s also a knee-jerk reaction to the events defining today. Head and heart offering confrontation, comfort and contrast in perfect harmony. The band “went in with a plan of how we wanted to sound and stuff we wanted to say,” but they wanted to avoid the blatant. “It’s weird when bands come out wearing shit firmly on their sleeves. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but for me, it’s way too far. I don’t want to slap the interpretation on people and give it to them on a plate. My girlfriend writes a lot of stories and there’s this thing she always says, ‘You’ve got to show not tell’. That’s the right way to go about it. You can implant the message of the emotion further in peoples mind. It’s got more impact. It feels more rich.” That said, ‘Abstract Figures In The Dark’ is Tigercub at their most upfront. Their most incendiary. “I was trying to peel back the layers, trying to talk about things that I’m a bit scared to say, more about myself than anything. I was trying to put things across lyrically a little bit clearer rather than trying to be a pretentious git about it constantly.” There are subtle hints to “the refugee crisis and the whole right wing, white suburban response to these people fleeing persecution as well as the rise of the right in politics. It’s not Billy Bragg, but there are potshots.” More than just a political record, ‘Abstract Figures In The Dark’ is an intimate exploration of the individual as the world tears itself apart. There’s doom and gloom aplenty but there’s a peace in that feeling. A togetherness in realising that even on the brink, you’re not alone. “There’s part of the record that’s quite immediate. There are a couple of tunes that are a bit lairy so if you want to just bang it on, you can. I would like to think it serves a couple of purposes. It can be this deep fucking pretentious thing if you want it to be, but there are times where it doesn’t take itself that seriously so you can enjoy it in passing. Maybe,” Jamie questions before adding: “It’s a record for everyone.” “It’s a hard thing to fit into a sentence without going off on one,” he continues. “I want it to feel cathartic and that it has come full circle. It’s done a full revolution. You end where you began.” You might finish back at the start but you’re no longer alone. “To be cliché, it’s going to take you on a journey. Or something like that.” Taken from the November issue of Upset - order your copy here. Tigercub’s debut album ‘Abstract Figures in the Dark’ is out now.