Here Are They Now : Tiger Trap

In this installment of HATN, I catch up with Rose Melberg, who first came to prominence as the voice and guitar of Tiger Trap, who made some of the catchiest dang pop you ever did hear, primarily hailing from the legendary K record label. Their music was bouncy, bittersweet stuff, quintessential 90s indie-pop, very much like that of sometime-labelmates Heavenly, only not English.

After the Trap's demise, Melberg continued to work the bouncy pop angle in Go Sailor, while saving her more down-tempo material as part of the duo called The Softies. All this, without even mentioning the short-lived Three Peeps or Gaze. I have caught up with Ms. Melberg as part of a much-heralded new act called Rose Melberg. Her solo material is no great leap from any of her prior work, but that's fine with me, because that just means it's still good.

Tiger Trap - Sour Grass
Buy it(ish)!
Go Sailor - Together Forever In Love
Buy it!
The Softies - Charms Around Your Wrist
Buy it!
Rose Melberg - The Time Has Come (this is a cover of a song by English folk singer Anne Briggs)
Buy it(ish)!
**"Buy it(ish)"= you won't get this particular song, but buy something else by this artist, friend.

As a bonus followup, I've checked in on Heather Dunn, who played drums in Tiger Trap. Her post-TT journey has been marked by a stint with Lois Maffeo in the band called Lois, a brief residency with the No-No's in Portland, a much-heralded turn with the Raincoats on their 1996 reunion album, Looking in the Shadows, and a regular gig backing K Records poster child/impresario Calvin Johnson in Dub Narcotic Sound System. Here's a track each from the No-No's and Dub Narcotic, although I can't guarantee she's working the background for this particular DNSS track...

The No-No's - Jupiter Girl
Buy it!
Dub Narcotic Sound System - Fuck Shit Up
Buy it(ish)!