The Sheffield Scenester

Cats for peru's follow up to their 2009 album 'Attack of the pitching machine' comes in the form of a 4 track E.P
'We had this problem last winter'

Ad from the band says "Some of the album guitars gave me nightmares, so I bought a synth and played that instead. This meant we had even more scope to, not change our direction as such, but to spout off like a musical tree".

Now I havent checked out their last outing, but after hearing this, I certainly will be.This is a beautifully produced piece of work, subtle in places, melodic and powerful.

Opening track 'Open house' starts with a tight bassline which drives the song throughout. Drums and spikey guitars are joined by the vocals, which blends into a lovely melodic chorus. Ad's newly additional synths enter in the form of a solo, and add an extra texture to the track.

'Duck in the oven' starts off with a driving floor tom beat, and again the delivery of the vocals in the chorus is delightful. "the cities alive round here" is the cry which stays with you long after the track is finished. There is a nice arpeggio style synth that sits underneath the track which makes it all reminiscent of a cross between 'The postal Service' and 'Elbow'.

'Sleeping with tightropes' is the darkest track on offer, again the production is oustanding. The peaks and quieter parts take you on a rollercoaster of emotion. When the peaks hit, they blow you away.

The final track 'Fear of better things' , a nice acoustic track and a fitting way to end the E.P.beautiful vocals joined towards the end by a string section and backing vocals to a euphoric climax.

Cats for Peru are not yet my new favourite band, but based on this effort, they certainly know how to make beautifully powerful pieces of music.

Words by Ian Huddleston