Because I don’t have time to process all the PR requests I have in my email box, I hired my cat Ziggy to write reviews about new music. I don’t know where this is going but we’ll have to go with it.
- Vincent Walter Jacob
Meow! What’s up humans? Here’s Ziggy the cat, that old feral furry friend of yours! This week I return with a pawful of fucking great music. Trust me, it would be your favorite playlist for your Thanksgiving dinner. And please, don’t throw away the leftovers. Give it to your favorite companion, the one crawling under the table, suffering while you are drunk, lamenting you couldn't score those Taylor Swift tickets.
KILLS BIRDS - GLISTEN
Last week, my owner took me to the Paranoyds concert at the Lodge Room. I rushed him because I saw that the opening act was called “Kills Birds”. Given it’s one of my favorite activities (killing birds), I knew we were in for something good!
The band's leader, Nina Ljeti, is a force of nature. I’m sure no birds are trying to mess with her, even vultures. The fact remains that she had her share of traumatizing experiences, having been born during the war in Bosnia, fleeing her country (one of her first memories is the bombing of Sarajevo), and dealing with abusive creepy powerful people. But she's here today and won't back down. The trio completed by guitarist Jacob Loeb and bassist Fielder Thomas is proof you can be a punk band and have impressive musical and technical skills.
The song Glisten was one of my live favorites. Pain and loneliness were never more apparent than when she repeatedly sang “Why don’t you want me?”. My little heart was tearing apart.
ADULT LEISURE - CONTROL
Anything from Bristol gets my attention. This place is like the Seattle of the 90’s, with talents blooming at every corner for more than a decade now. Gloomy weather might be the secret. These four cats are about to release their first EP ‘The Weekend Ritual’, on December 2nd. I just listened to it and it’s just fucking good. Throughout Control, it is evident that the singer does not always make the best and wisest choices for their own well-being. There might be drug use in this love story. I can relate. Whenever I'm on catnip, I end up in impossible relationships.
For fans of The Smiths, IDLES, Sam Fender.
BONES UK - MILK
What’s not to love about this song? First of all, it’s called “Milk” and god knows it’s my favorite beverage. Add a little Bourbon and I’m in cat paradise. The UK duet is a master at self-affirmation. Combining punk attitude and hip-hop, their music is a celebration of living without self-denial. It's going on the next time I'm riding the gutters. I'm sure the other cats will be impressed.
“It’s about the aftermath of hard times, the flower growing out of the dirt, the feeling of joy in the face of uncertainty and pain.” Rosie.
During times of nuclear threat and pandemic, we need this song.
THE MESSENGER BIRDS - FORTUNE TELLER
You know what we do with birds, don't you? They're our favorite meal, as I mentioned earlier! And messenger birds shall be the first ones to perish! What are they? Snitches? Telling everybody in the neighborhood that cats like me are on their way to feast? I haven’t pressed play yet but you got me hungry!
Detroit-based experimental/noise rock band, despite its name, is awfully great. Those two guys know how to make some noise. Their world is one of “isolation, outlandish conspiracy theories on an infinite feedback loop, overwhelming amounts of death and grief and uncertainty, and storylines that sound so hyperbolic and satirical that the only logical conclusion would be that we are all just living in a simulation and none of this is real.”
They might be right, and their music is probably the soundtrack of that game. Somewhere out of our world, there’s a sweaty teenager playing with us and given how bad things are turning, I’m feeling that this guy is not the smartest. I’m just hoping this will not turn into Stray, a game that follows a stray cat who falls into a walled city populated by robots, machines, and mutant bacteria. Chilling…
SCOUT GILLETT - NO ROOF NO FLOOR
You know I have a soft spot for indie heartwarming ballads with soaring vocals. This week, my little pussycat heart was captured by Brooklyn-via-Kansas City artist Scout Gillett. She just released an absolutely moving live performance of “No Roof No Floor,” the title track of her debut album released last month via Captured Tracks. There’s something in her fragile, over the edge, off-key vocals that screams deep sincerity.
The song features El Kempner of Palehound, and was filmed in a big wooden barn called The Chicken Shack in Stanfordville, NY (producer Nick Kinsey’s studio, where the album was originally recorded).
Scout just wrapped a tour supporting Sarah Shook & the Disarmers this month, and will continue touring with several shows throughout December, including LA’s Zebulon (12/11).
DEER TICK - MAKE BELIEVE (STUDIO DEMO)
I discovered Deer Tick and his charismatic frontman John McCauley in the sequel of my all time favorite music documentary Heartworn Highway. My owner had the pleasure to interview Graham Leader, the producer of those documentaries at the Pioneertown Film Festival. I was there, hiding in a corner of the Sound Stage, an old wooden country hall and I loved every bit of it, the interview and the movie. Ever since, I’ve been a fan.
On November 11th, Deer Tick released a special 11th-anniversary edition of their seminal 2011 album, ‘Divine Providence’. I recommend getting your paws on the physical version featuring a three-LP set and a 12-page booklet of newly unearthed photos from around the recording and release of ‘Divine Providence'.
GIANT KILLER BATS - YOM PETTY
I don’t like regular bats. I don't need giant killers taunting me. However, my owner insisted that I listen to this. During the first season of his podcast, he met McKoy Kirgo, and for months, Expected Gunman was the only song he would listen to. Alright... Let's give it a shot.
Ok, ok! My bad, it's awesome. Drenched in a wall of guitars, Kirgo’s voice is as delicate as touching. Giant Killer Cats would be a better name because even though he's a sweet pussycat, you feel like you shouldn't fuck with him. The song was made at a friend's studio while Kirgo was house sitting, according to Buzzband. “Just me, a couple dogs and a 15-year-old cat named Nicholby.” I’m sure old Nicholby had something to do with all that greatness.
JANE. - SUN IN MY EYES
JANE.’s new song, the intimate, confessional "Sun In My Eyes," co-written by The Neighbourhood's Jesse Rutherford, is a fucking gem, a perfect song for purr sessions by the fire. The song deals with the recollection of a car accident Jane. had during his childhood, a moment perfectly illustrated by a sudden drum build up halfway through the song. “Sun In My Eyes” makes me wanna cuddle with all the people I love, before it’s too late.
Jane. plays the Resident on December 8:
Alright, I need to go. My lazy owner just got me in charge of the Thanksgiving dinner. I’m off trying to catch a big bird to please him. But it will be on him if all they got for Thanksgiving is a stuffed mouse.
See you soon,
- Ziggy
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