Animal beats

Cats and Cats and Cats! That sentence is probably the best introduction I can possibly give to this band – and it conveniently happens to double as their name. I had a chat with the guys shortly before their first ever Irish show – the release party of their latest vinyl release Where Did You Get Lost To. Sheltered from the cold in their touring van and clutching the can of beer which they had rather nicely offered me, I sat down to get to know the band whose work NME describe as “unmitigated brilliance.” We were to discuss Irish Chinese food, promoters and touring, as well as the band’s deepest, shuddering fears and regrets.

But first: an introduction to the music. The band themselves, when pushed, describe it as “psychedelic, experimental indie” with touches of Radiohead and Neutral Milk Hotel. But where Coldplay are a second?rate Radiohead covers band, these guys produce the musical equivalent of taking ten Radiohead songs, chopping them up into pieces, and putting them back together again in random order. Stop-start rhythms and crazy time signatures is the name of the game, complete with impassioned vocals. This isn’t your standard pub rock, then, if you’re looking for The Fratellis you can piss off. This is is music that stands as good music without genre.

“In London, every band is trying to be the next big thing. We try to play gigs with promoters that actually promote gigs, where there are no media moguls. It’s not like we’re having money thrown at us,” says singer/guitarist Ben George.

They formed four years ago and come from the London area; namely Kent and Staines. Their progress has been swift, and the band are now veterans of the DIY scene in England and abroad. As this article is being written, they are in the midst of an Irish tour with Hooray for Humans, taking them to the furthest corners of the Emerald Isle. After that, they plan to record an album for release in March or April, entitled If I’d Had an Atlas, which should be available at your local indie record store. Yay!