Indie Music Album Reviews

Your Cat is a Landmine - A Gift You Can’t Ignore

8/27/2014

Your Cat is a Landmine

A Gift You Can’t Ignore
self-released; 2014

3.8 out of 5

By Ethan Skelton

It goes without saying that this group Your Cat is a Landmine enjoys playing around with titles. Don’t take yourself too seriously is a pretty good motto after all. So Your Cat is a Landmine? What could that possibly mean? There’s intrigue in the mystery so let’s just keep it at that. And more importantly, the music speaks for itself whenever track listings turn up an eyebrow.

I can personally vouch that the first song on their album A Gift You Can’t Ignore is especially off-putting – Natalie Portman stands as my celebrity crush #1 and that’s going on 15 years strong now. If her tapeworm sounds as good as that track then I’ll throw my hands up and call it a night.

“Natalie Portman’s Tapeworm” is a rock song for the pop/alt king or queen. It shares the elements of fast paced head banging and light verses sprinkled with guitar and founded on gentle bass. Think Queens of the Stone Age with a side of Vampire Weekend. A small side. Like coleslaw.

“Canada Water” is chugging and deep rooted in groove. The drums slam down with a strong back beat fueling the brash distortion that collapses upon an otherwise mellow tune. The vocals are always just a few lines away from growling tones and emotional screams. Somehow it fits despite its very metal delivery. The song’s ending is a testament to the vocalist’s chord straining barks.

The final track “Cougar Love Adventure” sounds like a Pearl Jam B-side. The vocals walk that perfect line between rock bellow and rich baritone while the guitars fully embrace the ‘90s rhythm/progression formula. It never gets old to hear that aesthetic revived, timeless genres never truly die.

To quote the album, this little collection is actually very much a gift you can’t ignore. Or shouldn’t ignore at least. The music scene could always benefit from more true to soul rock bands, and in the right hands these guys will really turn some heads. They sound like a successful garage band tale and I think they’re on to something. Due to some pressures, they scrambled a bit to find the best material for their release and in this case, three was the magic number. I’d suggest you tune in to see what’s next because this is just the beginning.