Review Summary: The Horrors' front man Faris Badwan teams up with female Canadian opera singer to create an album of 60's inspired pop music? Yep, it's just as interesting as it sounds. It also happens to be very good.
In just two albums, The Horrors have shown a great ability to shift and change the sonic-structure of their music, and do it well. I'll admit that their debut album, "Strange House", didn't do much for me. It bred one of the coolest music videos I've ever seen in "Sheena Is A Parasite", but the music itself didn't seem to have much staying power. They were, to me, all style and no substance. However their follow-up, "Primary Colours" made a believer out of me, and this small sample of Badwan's side-project Cat's Eyes just reinforces that feeling.
The sound of Cat's Eyes is as far removed from The Horrors sound as possible, with a sound indebted to 60's girl-groups like The Shangri-La's. This owes a lot to having Rachel Zeffira, a classically-trained soprano and multi-instrumentalist, as the band's other half. The tracks "Love You Anyways" and "The Best Person I Know" feature Zeffira wistfully singing Brian Wilson-like lyrics of teenage love over Burt Bacharach-ian instrumentation, with sweeping strings and lush piano-textures that also bring to mind Spector's Wall of Sound.
On the other end of the spectrum, the tracks "Cat's Eyes" and "Sunshine Girls" owe a little more to "Strange House"'s garage rock sound. Both songs work as duets, and while "Sunshine Girls" displays the limited vocal-range of Badwan, Zeffira holds up her end quite nicely. Still, Badwan's vocals add something unique, and don't take anything away from it. "Cat's Eyes", however, fits Badwan's vocal-style much better, and the song is reminiscent of a Hazelwood/Sinatra duet.
In the four short years since The Horrors first release, the band has managed to throw quite a few curve-balls. Be it in their original band, or their various side-projects, they've managed to keep fans guessing. Being able to work within various genres and sounds is commendable. Being adept at doing so is impressive. Luckily, Cat's Eyes manages to fall into the latter category.
