Hailing from Stoke-on-Trent, THE FAT CATS (formerly the Inswingers) have been dubbed as the most exciting band in the UK. Now I wouldn’t go as far as that but with the majority of turgid monotony that gets peddled as ‘alternative’ lately this debut album does actually reconcile itself with the said word fairly well in that it provides a big breath of fresh air to the seemingly never-ending myspace-core craze.
The instrumentation present on this album alone is enough to cure me of a nasty case of music-related narcolepsy; we have a double bass, keys and a sax combined with filthy guitars and solid drums. It certainly provides for a high degree of inventiveness and anticipation of what surprises the next track may throw up. One thing is guaranteed throughout though and that is massive vocal hooks; virtually every song has a massive chorus and isn’t afraid to hide it – this is very true of the R&B influenced ‘All This Time’ and the punkier ‘Bored to Death’ which are just mere tasters of several examples.
There are a couple of real stand-out tracks on the album; notably the mad-cap swing driven ‘Sticky Fingers’ which would excite fans of THE CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES and SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS plus the sharp, punchy and interestingly titled ‘Mugpunter’. There are a few less tantalising moments however; ‘The Road Ahead’ plods along without ever going anywhere, the same can be said for ‘This Town‘ which just doesn’t live up to most of the other offerings. On the whole though there is definitely more hit than miss and the misses don’t detract too much from this rather enjoyable listening experience.
Whether I’ll still feel as strongly about this album in a few months time may be another story as the novelty factor may indeed wear off. But right now, at this very moment in time, this album is exciting, entertaining, inventive and almost everything else a bored reviewer could ask for. Thank you 10 Past 12 Records.
-Mike
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