Cat's Eyes - Cat's Eyes

Sideprojects. Mostly fun, often a little disappointing compared to their day job, and in the most famous cases a little bit frustrating (Last Shadow Puppets, Beady Eye, Kele Okereke and Brandon Flowers' solo albums). They've also got a bit of a tendency to revel in some classical influences - and this is certainly the case here. Frontman of The Horrors, Faris Badwan, has teamed up with Canadian-Italian Rachel Zeffira to form one of the most common outfit types: the boy/girl duo. Indeed, with such recent domineers as Cults, (the main force of) Bodies of Water and jj, it's beginning to feel like a gimmick - an immediately cute default that can quickly conjure twenty rumours a day of "are they a couple?" or "which one's the creative force?"

Here at GSA Reviews we consider ourselves a little above such personal shit, so let's dive in to the album. It follows an EP released in February (just a month or so before the release of this), which gathered a little positive press - and a performance at the Vatican certainly helped:

...performed their first gig last December at St. Peter’s Basilica, which if you don’t know is where the Pope lives. According to a press release received by Pitchfork, the show was attended by “seven high-ranking cardinals,”...

What better way to kick off an album called Cat's Eyes by a band called Cat's Eyes than with a track called 'Cat's Eyes'? Well a better track might be one. It's immediately tinged with Spector pastiches that're a little predictable, but the clash of the pair's voices makes for something original - Zeffira like the Ronnettes to Badwan's best Lou Reed impression. Unfortunately with little to work with musically, they get a bit tangled. On 'The Best Person I Know' there's some distant whispers about how amazing you are, that's all twilit and pretty, but not much else.

However there's a more careful and imaginative orchestration to 'I'm Not Stupid' that feels like a Janelle Monae ballad done by the Carpenters - Zeffira morosely sighs "I know I'm not a pretty girl/ Be realistic/ I know, I know/ 'Cause I'm not stupid". 'Face in the Crowd' is a lavish amalgamation of Tarantino-spitting Western influences and Bond-theme-aspirational theatricality, that sounds camper on paper than it really is (think Edwyn Collins' A Girl Like You). The lyrics go a little off on 'Not A Friend' ("You might think that your lies are kind but they just stink") but backed by a slow rock and roll classic rhythm it twirls around satisfyingly.

A whistle, horns and whip sounds appear on 'Bandit' giving it a bit of a "late submission to the Kill Bill soundtrack / alternative "Canyonero!" advertising" feel. Perhaps the most unsettling experience, 'Sooner or Later' feels like Nick Cave trying to extract a kidney stone. Background swells and strings dive at you almost at random, with harsher electronic effects to make you squirm further. Provocative, certainly, but a tad self-indulgent I feel. 'The Lull' returns to the Ronnettes sampling with some rich instrumentation and further shoegazing vocals; with its title it feels like an anaesthetic for the sudden jolt that's 'Over You' - which thrusts shrill strings tunes and a disco-pop rhythm for maximum sway-along potential. 'I Knew It Was Over' is a gorgeously pretty track (the one performed above at the Vatican) with a rather conventional piano tune and swelling echoes for a bit of a predictable (but cute) swansong.



It's basically a nice little venture if you can't be bothered to dig up some Shirelles or Ronnettes tracks. There's nothing really here to get caught up about, no new genres exposed or fascinating wordplay, it's just retropop with a little bit of shoegazing - not exactly something we're in scarce supply of at the moment.

Rating: 6/10
Highlights: Face In The Crowd, Not A Friend, I Knew It Was Over, Bandit, I'm Not Stupid
Avoid: Cat's Eyes, Sooner or Later

Artwork Watch: Distorted font, a lot of black, no eye contact with the camera. OH THE PRETENSION.