If there is such a thing as "polished lo-fi" music, then Track A Tiger is a shining example of it. Born of the musical noodlings of Chicago school teacher Jim Valet in 2003, the band slowly added a collective of local musicians, recording rough tracks on home equipment, throwing little flourishes to the tracks over long periods, and letting the whole project percolate and simmer over a couple of years. That long process yielded last year's debut album, and 2007 sees the band branching out, coalescing into an actual band unit, offering us the delightfully mellow We Moved Like Ghosts. Whereas the first disc was an outgrowth of Valet's initial demos and ideas, We Moved… is the sound of a still-young band exploring their dynamics, expanding their sound, and simply having a good time. The warm acoustic backdrop for songs like "Light" and "All These Accidents" give the disc a laid back charm, while the smooth harmonies of Valet, Kristina Castañeda, Julia Knippen, Patrick Melvin, and Alisa Jo Monnier flow easily over and through the jangling melodies on tracks like "With Stars Turned Down." Elsewhere on the disc, the band ups the energy with "Not Far From This Anger," an up-tempo rocker that somehow manages to evoke a humid summer haziness. All crisply produced, yet still down-home, We Moved… should give hope to musical noodlers everywhere that they, too, may end up producing a minor gem.
--Neal Alpert
