06-05-2011, 12:00
truly alternative
nothing I can say I liked
but the instrument usage and choir kept it interesting
setting for the clip makes it kind of creepy
Grade - 1.4
released May 3rd, 2011
![[Image: p87395yk53z.jpg]](http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drp800/p873/p87395yk53z.jpg)
from the album - I Knew It Was Over - 1.5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vExWDct-hOc
from all music
Bio
Subverting the romance of â60s girl group pop and male-female duos like Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra with plenty of psychedelic atmosphere, Catâs Eyes features the Horrors' Faris Badwan and Canadian soprano Rachel Zeffira. The pairâs first release, the Broken Glass EP, arrived in February 2011; soon after, they made their live debut at the Vatican, performing the song âI Know Itâs Overâ in the Basilica during a Mass. Catâs Eyes played their first full-fledged concert and issued the Face in the Crowd EP in March, a few weeks before their self-titled debut arrived.
Album Review
Despite being written off as trendy garage punks at first, the Horrors have been behind some surprisingly eclectic music. Most obvious was their reinvention into psychedelic shoegazers on their second album, Primary Colours, but the analog synth-heavy side project Spider & the Flies and this collaboration between singer Faris Badwan and soprano Rachel Zeffira also show that thereâs more to the band than rehashing the â60s in all-black outfits. While Catâs Eyes love that decade too, they explore different musical territory, mining the drama and romance of Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood's duets as well as the eccentric brilliance of Joe Meek's productions for a sound thatâs equal parts campy and vulnerable, mischievous and romantic. However, the actual sound of Catâs Eyes isnât as retro as might be expected. The combination of Zeffiraâs pristine vocals and the hovering, swooping soundscapes surrounding her suggest Broadcast on the shyly sweet love song âThe Best Person I Knowâ and Felt Mountain-era Goldfrapp on âBandit,â one of the few times when her operatic training comes to the fore. Though Primary Colours was far less theatrical than the Horrors' debut, Strange House, was, Badwan canât help but have some influence of Z-grade horror and spy movie themes in his music. At times this adds a playful wink, as on the slinky go-go workouts âCatâs Eyesâ and âFace in the Crowd,â but Badwan's atonal solo turn âSooner or Laterâ is the albumâs sore thumb. However, he redeems himself on the lovely duet âThe Lull,â which just emphasizes that Catâs Eyes' best moments are often the most delicate. âOver Youâ and âNot a Friendâ use the duoâs fascination with spooky girl group pop vividly, and âI Knew It Was Overâ is so hymnal that it doesnât seem all that gimmicky that it was first performed at the Vatican. Catâs Eyes is an intriguing album of heartbroken, shadowy pop that transcends its influences when it aims directly for the heart.
Track Listing
1 Cat's Eyes
2 The Best Person I Know
3 I'm Not Stupid
4 Face in the Crowd
5 Not a Friend
6 Bandit
7 Sooner or Later
8 The Lull
9 Over You
10 I Knew It Was Over
nothing I can say I liked
but the instrument usage and choir kept it interesting
setting for the clip makes it kind of creepy
Grade - 1.4
released May 3rd, 2011
from the album - I Knew It Was Over - 1.5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vExWDct-hOc
from all music
Bio
Subverting the romance of â60s girl group pop and male-female duos like Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra with plenty of psychedelic atmosphere, Catâs Eyes features the Horrors' Faris Badwan and Canadian soprano Rachel Zeffira. The pairâs first release, the Broken Glass EP, arrived in February 2011; soon after, they made their live debut at the Vatican, performing the song âI Know Itâs Overâ in the Basilica during a Mass. Catâs Eyes played their first full-fledged concert and issued the Face in the Crowd EP in March, a few weeks before their self-titled debut arrived.
Album Review
Despite being written off as trendy garage punks at first, the Horrors have been behind some surprisingly eclectic music. Most obvious was their reinvention into psychedelic shoegazers on their second album, Primary Colours, but the analog synth-heavy side project Spider & the Flies and this collaboration between singer Faris Badwan and soprano Rachel Zeffira also show that thereâs more to the band than rehashing the â60s in all-black outfits. While Catâs Eyes love that decade too, they explore different musical territory, mining the drama and romance of Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood's duets as well as the eccentric brilliance of Joe Meek's productions for a sound thatâs equal parts campy and vulnerable, mischievous and romantic. However, the actual sound of Catâs Eyes isnât as retro as might be expected. The combination of Zeffiraâs pristine vocals and the hovering, swooping soundscapes surrounding her suggest Broadcast on the shyly sweet love song âThe Best Person I Knowâ and Felt Mountain-era Goldfrapp on âBandit,â one of the few times when her operatic training comes to the fore. Though Primary Colours was far less theatrical than the Horrors' debut, Strange House, was, Badwan canât help but have some influence of Z-grade horror and spy movie themes in his music. At times this adds a playful wink, as on the slinky go-go workouts âCatâs Eyesâ and âFace in the Crowd,â but Badwan's atonal solo turn âSooner or Laterâ is the albumâs sore thumb. However, he redeems himself on the lovely duet âThe Lull,â which just emphasizes that Catâs Eyes' best moments are often the most delicate. âOver Youâ and âNot a Friendâ use the duoâs fascination with spooky girl group pop vividly, and âI Knew It Was Overâ is so hymnal that it doesnât seem all that gimmicky that it was first performed at the Vatican. Catâs Eyes is an intriguing album of heartbroken, shadowy pop that transcends its influences when it aims directly for the heart.
Track Listing
1 Cat's Eyes
2 The Best Person I Know
3 I'm Not Stupid
4 Face in the Crowd
5 Not a Friend
6 Bandit
7 Sooner or Later
8 The Lull
9 Over You
10 I Knew It Was Over