CAT’S EYES – CAT’S EYES

This debut from the London-based duo is a bit hit and miss. “Hit” here meaning quite groovy and cool, and “miss” meaning a bit cheesy and lame. The opening Cat’s Eyes is a driving 60s pop number, layered beautifully into lush reverberation, with Faris Badwan’s droll baritone serving as an Ian Curtis-ish counterpoint to Rachel Zeffira’s go-go harmonies. I’m Not Stupid is actually a little bit stupid; Zeffira takes the focus and insists she’s “not a pretty girl… be realistic…” (obviously fishing for compliments – she’s very pretty) while the string arrangements, though masterful, commit the track to utter cheesiness. Face In The Crowd is back on track, and the twangy 60s pop theme is obviously the duo’s best suit; the vocal dynamic is nicely balanced between Badwan’s blunt, punk crooning and Zeffira’s sweet, pitch-perfect melodies, which, incidentally, are a dead ringer for those of Bird and the Bee’s Inara George (another girl-boy duo to which many more comparisons could be drawn). After a few more misses we get Over You, the third of the three exciting songs on the record. It seems as if the pair have gotten caught up in Zeffira’s extensive classical background and orchestral arrangements which, while seriously fine, become over bearing and a bit boring as they dredge up the Van Dyke Parks part of 60s pop, which unfortunately does not enjoy retro-cool status. More misses than hits, but a solid start to a promising collaboration.

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