Your Cat is a Landmine - Lift Shaft Protocol

Your Cat Is A Landmine

Life Shaft Protocol
self-released; 2013

3.7 out of 5

By Sean Dennison

The UK as a whole has a lush record of taking the concept of pop Music and force-marching it through new territory. The Lincoln-based trio Your Cat is a Landmine may be on to something with their EP Lift Shaft Protocol. "Why is that nobody seems to be called 'Geoffrey' anymore?" I don't even know what instrument produces the outer-spacey oscillating sound heard at the beginning of this track. The influences in this single track are as varied as the track title is long. Joy Division, Phil Spector, Blue Cheer, Roxy Music, etc.

The trio did not want to record anything they could not replicate live and does away with the effects toward the end of song, shaping their music into a much more powerful "Big Three" (guitar, drums and bass) sound with more muscle, if less flexibility. The sonic change is exciting, for the vocal delivery stays constant and you know I'm all about duality in the same track.

The next two tracks are much more straightforward than their predecessor. "This one's for Andi Peters" has that quiet-loud-quiet-LOUD dynamic I enjoy hearing, with guttural yells giving away to pained balladry and adroit, efficient instrumentality giving way to an insane monolith of noise that borders on heavy metal. "Your chance of a lifetime" takes me back to the days of early 00’s radio. The trio is in top form with mood and execution, and this track is indeed the most focused of the three. It is a pity the bass is mixed in so low. Anyway, gentle guitar playing evolves quickly into an ascending battle cry of measured drumming and ferocious string work. It’s an excellent way to end an EP –with a song with a sound as big as an entire album.

I dig this group. Interesting name, interesting ideas, interesting sound, and they're from Lincoln, UK, so I trust their judgment, frankly, more than a band from, say, Lincoln, Nebraska.

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