Katsen
(Shelflife)
The first thing that strikes you when you look at the cover of this CD is that, well, they seem to like cats (hence the name) or at least they like putting cat heads on top of human's bodies. If nothing else it is a unique and unusual concept and once that draws attention to the record. Katsen is actually Donna Grimaldi and Chris Blackburn, a duo from Brighton, England who dig their Casios and synthesizers and more importantly, love to make unusual sounds with them.
On the first cut "Let's Build a City" the drum machine cranks up, as do the synths, and with the both of them singing they seem to want to make a "Here we are!" statement while on "Chequered Flag" Donna handles the vox herself and the sounds get a bit darker (just a bit). On "Island Is An Animal" the local operator gets on the phone and starts slapping buttons (or so it seems) and belting out weird ringtones while "German Film Star" gets all soundtrack-y on us (the latter is a cover of the Passions' new wave classic from the early ‘80s). And the title track is perfect for jogging while on the Autobahn (don't forget the lederhosen). At times the record is just too repetitive (and occasionally the synths are teeth-grindingly annoying) but overall if a mix of Kraftwerk, Ladytron and Barcelona strikes your fancy then Katsen will undoubtedly be taking up time in the cd player on the next road trip.
Standout Tracks: "It Hertz!", "Constellation", "Let's Build a City" TIM HINELY
