CATS AND CATS AND CATS - Mother Whale (Album Review)
Tuesday, 05 July 2011
Written by Ben Bland
Cats and Cats and Cats are one of those bands that it’s genuinely quite hard not to like. There’s something rather endearing about their unique spray of infectious math rock. Not ones to shy away from the more unusual, 'Mother Whale' sees Cats and Cats and Cats throw everything out of their palette and onto the canvas.
From the brief introductory track, 'Speckled Hens for Speckled Lovers', to the mammoth 11 minute closer 'Come Home', this is an album that takes great pride in the fact that it’s just a little bit odd. Half the time it sounds like the record that Belle & Sebastian would have made if they had shorter attention spans and the rest of the time it sounds like This Town Needs Guns if they ditched a bit of their technical ability in favour of increased focus on catchy hooks. At times this record doesn’t really work. The opening four tracks flash past in the blink of an eye but all sound a bit half-finished. It’s not until the excellent 'O’ Science' that things really get going. Despite featuring lyrics that you will either find charmingly humorous or bloody annoying (depending on how resolute, stern and serious you are), this is a song that it is undoubtedly enjoyable and leads on to a thoroughly exhilarating joyride of a second half of the record. The extra pieces of instrumentation, mostly horns and lots of violin, that crop up all over the record begin to fit into place rather than sounding like carelessly chucked on additions. 'Match of the Day' features a couple of riffs that sound like they narrowly missed out being included on the latest And So I Watch You From Afar record and, despite not featuring any hint of the famous programme’s theme tune, is the sort of delightful summer track that swims towards your heart to give it a big hug and put a smile the size of the River Thames on your face. The final two tracks, 'Zoomercroom' and the aforementioned 'Come Home', are two of the finest and bring the record to its conclusion in deservedly accomplished fashion.
The vocals are a bit of a moot point on this record to be honest. The male-female vocal duals clearly sound better than solo vocals from either party and the group vocals that are so important to the success of 'Come Home' are preferable as well. It all sounds very earnest, like most of this album, but it’s difficult to think that some of the less impressive vocal takes couldn’t have been redone because occasionally they sound wearily strained. Essentially this record is one that you might enjoy...in fact...you might enjoy it a lot. I cannot guarantee that you will enjoy it; I cannot even tell you that you should enjoy it. To be honest, I’m really not that sure what I think about it myself. I love the last seven tracks. I am almost completely indifferent about the first six. This is an album that could maybe have been better if a bit more time had been put into it. That’s not to say that there is a shortage of care in the execution here, just to say that at times the finished output is not quite as good as I wish it was. It’s a bit messy and at times makes you produce one of those nervous smiles you whip out when having an awkward conversation with your mate’s new boy/girlfriend. It is not the glorious triumph this band may have been aiming for, it is too confusing for that but who knows...you might be one of the ones who will fall in love with it.
Album Rating: 7/10
'Mother Whale' is out now on Function Records.
Cats and Cats and Cats play London's Bull & Gate to launch 'Mother Whale' on August 6th, with support from A Genuine Freakshow and The Siegfried Sassoon.
They also play at 2000 Trees Festival on Friday 15th July at 2pm in the Leaf Lounge.
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From the brief introductory track, 'Speckled Hens for Speckled Lovers', to the mammoth 11 minute closer 'Come Home', this is an album that takes great pride in the fact that it’s just a little bit odd. Half the time it sounds like the record that Belle & Sebastian would have made if they had shorter attention spans and the rest of the time it sounds like This Town Needs Guns if they ditched a bit of their technical ability in favour of increased focus on catchy hooks. At times this record doesn’t really work. The opening four tracks flash past in the blink of an eye but all sound a bit half-finished. It’s not until the excellent 'O’ Science' that things really get going. Despite featuring lyrics that you will either find charmingly humorous or bloody annoying (depending on how resolute, stern and serious you are), this is a song that it is undoubtedly enjoyable and leads on to a thoroughly exhilarating joyride of a second half of the record. The extra pieces of instrumentation, mostly horns and lots of violin, that crop up all over the record begin to fit into place rather than sounding like carelessly chucked on additions. 'Match of the Day' features a couple of riffs that sound like they narrowly missed out being included on the latest And So I Watch You From Afar record and, despite not featuring any hint of the famous programme’s theme tune, is the sort of delightful summer track that swims towards your heart to give it a big hug and put a smile the size of the River Thames on your face. The final two tracks, 'Zoomercroom' and the aforementioned 'Come Home', are two of the finest and bring the record to its conclusion in deservedly accomplished fashion.
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