Ellen Siberian Tiger is a self-described “3-piece feminist indie rock band with orchestral and punk influences.” There’s a lot of concepts going on for such a brief description but it’s probably as succinct a manifesto of both the band’s sound and stance as possible in the 400-character field of a Bandcamp bio. Stretch beyond that arbitrary descriptive limit and it’s apparent that Ellen Siberian Tiger is a fierce and complex artistic project with a clear vision and the skillful chops to back up their uncompromising stance on critical issues.
The band’s 2015 debut, I Can’t Help It is a mixture of intimate indie rock and angular 90s alternative followed by a steady stream of singles over the subsequent years that supported an unwavering message of empowerment with equally varied musical accompaniment. Ellen Siberian Tiger’s latest album is just over the horizon and the initial samples are shaping up to be bigger, blunter, and bolder than ever before.
“If A Tree Falls In The Forest” opens on a lake of ominous synths lurking beneath feedback saturated guitar and heavy percussion as frontperson Ellen Tiberio-Shultz’s singsong vocals skim across the dark surface, dancing and twirling in mesmerizing fashion like the radiant sugar plum faeries of Disney’s Fantasia but possessing a sensation of otherworldly menace like disembodied echoes of a nursery rhyme drifting through the abandoned halls of a Victorian sanatorium. This juxtaposition is important because the message requires the listener to feel the disquieting contrast between graceful delicacy and the imposing darkness of a cold and uncaring culture that too frequently turns a deaf ear to queer voices when they need to be heard the most. Refusing to exist as one of the silent, apathetic ghosts that surround them, Tiberio-Shultz modifies a classical philosophical thought experiment to illustrate the indifference often endured by a victim speaking up against an abuser. Just because there are no witnesses doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Just because there may not be scars doesn’t mean irreparable damage wasn’t done. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody saw it, Tiberio-Shultz promises to believe. We all should, too.
Supporting the track is an impactful video loaded with visual symbolism. Seated dead center in stark binary black and white and surrounded by a heavy vignette, a suited-up Tiberio-Shultz recites the lyrics directly into the camera with steely determination as if from the witness stand. Arms stretch from the edges of the frame and proceed to wrap them in bandages, beginning tightly around their neck and moving upwards to eventually cover their entire head. Tendrils of smoke float across the frame, obscuring the truth as they valiantly sing against the bandages, straining to be heard as the ever tightening bindings attempt to silence them but determined to resist until the very last second. As the mummification is complete Tiberio-Shultz is forced to wear a pair of sunglasses over the wrappings, robbed of their identity, compelled to accept and wear their victimhood but never recognized for hidden wounds.
“If A Tree Falls In The Forest” is a powerful statement, and an indication that Ellen Siberian Tiger’s upcoming sophomore release will be a hard hitting treatise on the continuing challenges of inequality LGBTQ+ people encounter every day and a celebration of the resolute strength required to resist and rise above toward an equal future.
Stream Ellen Siberian Tiger’s discography on Spotify and follow the band on Instagram for the latest updates on their new album.
