Review Summary: It's incredigood
Gypsy and the Cat shocked me into submission as soon as I heard them. I was expecting it to be some sort of folk band, but was surprised and very pleased with the ’70/’80s pop sound they have. “Parallel Universe” was the first song I heard by them, and though it is a great song, it bores me a bit after the first chorus and it isn’t good enough for me to be happy with its small amount of repetitiveness (that might just be my music ADD, so for those who don’t have it, you would probably find this song quite listenable). Despite my brain/patience faults, I listened on through the whole song the first time, and as soon as it was done, I moved to another song, and that song is what really kicked off my obsession. “The Piper’s Song” is a great example of what Gypsy and the Cat is about. After a few soft seconds, the drums come in, mixing perfectly with layered pop and acoustic guitar. I don’t know what it is about this band that makes me love them so much, but this song is a reflection of it. I would have to guess the most important factor is the rhythm. Gypsy and the Cat have rhythm like none other. Just listen to “Time to Wander” and you’ll understand. The only other time I have heard rhythm and drums as great as this is when I first heard all of Foster the People’s album Torches, and it’s hard to not appreciate that.
Some songs off of their debut are exciting, like the ones I talked about above, but others are very relaxing and emotional. The song “Sight of a Tear” has recently become one of my favorite songs. Through most of it, they retain their high, sort of raspy voice. But the chorus is incredible. It has that 80’s sound to it with two different singers singing the same words in different melodies, with a stadium-echo effect. It has a pretty sad and somewhat delicate feel to it, but that’s not uncommon for their music. “Gilgamesh” is alone the same lines of delicacy. I believe it is because of the intricacy they put into their songs and their desire to make unique music that makes their songs so interesting and fun. The synths they infuse into the songs are tranquil, even if they are on an exciting song. This album is one of the few albums I can listen to during the day and also during the night.
