Fantastic Cat – Now That’s What I Call
This is a sophomore LP by an indie-pop band who’s more in common with the legendary pub-rock unit Rockpile than any other band. This is what the late 70s pub rock sounded like earnestly – the Brinsley Schwartz crowd, Rockpile, Nick Lowe, Ian Gomm, Mickey Jupp & Duck’s Deluxe. Fantastic Cat offers lots of sharp young voices, hooky melodies, snappy playing & a momentum that begins right at the start.
These 11 surprisingly tantalizing choice pieces cut from Now That’s What I Call (Drops June 7/Missing Piece Records/38:00) were recorded in Pennsylvania & Brooklyn, NY. Produced smartly by the band of 4 they start their showcase with “Oh Man!” & segue into “Little Bit Broken,” & “Later On.” Each possesses that Rockpile “sound” with a sugar shake dose of the Traveling Wilbury’s for consistency.
They don’t have the distinctive contrasting voices of Harrison, Dylan, Orbison, Jeff Lynne & Tom Petty but they do have style & their showpieces have substance. Musically, they mix up the musicality with an attractive performance. Nothing’s heavy-handed. They have good arrangements & they inject their tunes with fun. Evident on “So Glad You Made It.”
There’s a bunch of musical flowers in this band’s vase – even a tinge of bluegrass & rural folk music (“The Hammer & the Nail”) but it’s all done with organic qualities & played with ease & gusto. Their material is good, seriously good throughout. There’s little that can be construed as novelty. The Rockpile comparison will come around again when they fire up the slightly echoed “I Don’t Know Why,” & even the driving “Go All Night” as both sound Dave Edmunds-like in a Rockpile/Traveling Wilbury’s context & they are excellent.
The music is far superior to the CD artwork. My only issue with this set is the cover art. The music is stellar throughout. The CD art: juvenile. Procol Harum made a similar misstep with their Home LP – a dark collection but, the cover art was happy & cartoonish. I have faith though – the musicians with Fantastic Cat are too good to put silly humor over their musical skills. I hope.
Highlights – “Oh Man!” “Little Bit Broken,” “Later On,” “So Glad You Made It,” “The Hammer & the Nail,” “I Don’t Know Why,” “Go All Night,” “Edinburgh” & “All My Fault.”
Musicians – Brian Dunne, Anthony D’Amato, Don DiLego & Mike Montali with Michael Hesslein (keyboards), Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (vocals), James Felice & Tony Lauria (accordions), Andrew Zehnal & Scott Campbell (drums), Jack McLoughlin (pedal steel), Alec Spiegelman (woodwinds) & Geoff Burke (horns).
CD @ Bandcamp + https://www.fantasticcatband.com/
