LP of the Month (July 2011): Cats And Cats And Cats - Mother Whale

Cats And Cats And Cats - Mother Whale (2011, Function Records) 

"My heart is all smashed up, how is yours not?"

Cats and Cats and Cats are a peculiar band. Their often pained and out of tune vocal lines tread dangerously close to the line between endearing and uncomfortably bad. To a fan, these 'dodgy' moments somehow add to the magic of the music, often creating beautifully meaningful harmonies between the male and female counterparts. I love Cats and Cats and Cats, and have done since they were introduced to me by a mate when they released a split with another favourite, This Town Needs Guns. 

Mother Whale was a pleasant and unexpected release for me, just a year after 2010's brilliant 'If I'd Had An Atlas'. Having barely made it off my stereo, I was blessed with another full release. This is an album that I was so intent on listening to that I actually ordered myself a physical copy (which is, if you know me, quite a rare thing). 'Mother Whale' is beautiful. It delivers more twee, angular pop tunes encompassing trumpets, violins, vocal 'harmonies' (see last paragraph) and unexpected tempo and time signature changes. As a whole piece of work, the album is possibly more accomplished than their previous debut full length. Each and every track has something about it whether it be 'O' Science's dual guitar lines or 'Christmas Lions' call and response style vocals. French accordians feature heavily, with 'For The Love Of The Mechanical Bears' bordering into Yann Tiersen Amelie territory. A welcome addition.

Some may not be able to handle the tweeness. Some may not be able to endure the vocal discrepancies. If you can, you will no doubt enjoy this band. I can't liken them to any other. Delicious.

Walter-High: 'O' Science', 'Christmas Lions'

Tellison - The Wages of Fear

Track List:

01. Get On 4:10
02. Say Silence (Heaven Earth) 3:22
03. Know Thy Foe 3:27
04. Collarbone 2:41
05. Freud Links The Teeth And The Heart 2:46
06. Horses 3:14
07. Rapture 3:47
08. Tell It To Thebes 4:02
09. Letters From Pre-Med 2:41
10. Vermont 3:36
11. Edith 3:15
12. My Wifes Grave Is In Paris 4:39


"So tell me I'm the work of your life, and I'll say you'll be the work of mine"

"I think that if you'd not met me, you would not be so sad"

On first listening to 'Hanover Start Clapping' from 2007 album 'Contact! Contact!', Tellison became another one of my short lived obsessions. It was one of those albums that reminded me of a certain period of my life studying in London, if not only for the amount of repeats it managed to rack up on my Itunes. The album was consistently pleasing if not ground-breaking or particularly moving. As a live band, they supplemented this with a lot of energy and deranged looking singer Stephen Davidson giving every member of the crowd the 'eye' throughout the set at the Lexington. Entertaining.

So 2011 has arrived and Tellison have released their second long player. On first listen, it doesn't seem like Tellison have come a long way. We are greeted with more emo-infused indie rock and melancholy lyrics contrasted with major chords and vocal harmonies. The album opens with a short-lived, sombre piano phrase in 'Get On', only to break into distorted major guitar strumming; any fans of Tellison will be immediately at home.

The album is consistently upbeat with an obvious placement of a token slow song mid way through the album to break the pace; 'Freud Links The Teeth and The Heart'. Unfortunately this isn't delivered particularly well; appalling lyrics rhyming 'France' with 'pants' (didn't Busted use this?) put a damper on the whole affair. Disaster disaster. This brings me to another concern. Having had the album on repeat on the way to work and blaring out of my speakers at home for the past week (it is an album that should be played at high volumes), I am struggling to pinpoint a stand out track. Don't get me wrong though, I am grinning from cheek to cheek and jigging around like a child that's been given way too many Wham! bars the whole way through. You will be singing lyrics for days but somehow you will combine most of the track's choruses into one mega-song, wondering which band you have rattling around your brain. It's not special. It's not innovative. It's damn good fun.

Penultimate track 'Edith' exclaims "Someone's gonna get hurt tonight". I think Davidson is mistaken. The only way you will get hurt listening to this album is if you fall over pulling air guitar lunges in your bedroom.

6.5

Walter-High: 'Rapture', 'Edith',

Walter-Low: 'Freud Links The Teeth and The Heart'


Listen HERE