Cats
On Fire: s/t 7" (Elva Records, 2003)
You Will Find Me Where You Left Me, Something Happened
This is a first official Cats On Fire release. It's also a first release by very interesting new label Elva Records. I liked Cats On Fire's demo 'The Empty Town' (available for free in mp3 format at their website) quite a lot and therefore this release was a must have item for me. Let's get on to this new ep then. It has a few minor faults, but still easily ends up on the positive side. The opener 'Solid Work' has a fantastic chorus, but otherwise it really doesn't ever truly lift off. For me, the slowest moments of this self-titled ep are the most intriguing ones. 'You Will Find Me Where You Left Me' is a truly great song. Mattias' voice and gentle guitar picking makes it sound incredibly good. Another awesome tune is 'Something Happened' which starts similarly, but evolves into a pretty a pop song. The last one 'Honey Your Baby' is nothing special but a nice ending to say at least. The somewhat witty lyrics about writing songs about your girlfriend are lovely. The lyrics in general are quite good and worth listening to. Musicwise it's rather warm guitar pop. Luscious melodies, well-crafted songs and hints of certain Morrisseyness. This is a fine little record, but if I could replace 'Honey Your Baby' with 'The True Nature Of An Empty Town' or 'They Produced A Girl' I would like it even more. Worthless complain though, because why the heck should they release old demo songs. There's still a bit of room for improvement, but this is a very good start.
Cats On Fire Website
Written 16.04.2003
Acid House Kings Website