Whiskycats – Whiskycats (Medical Records)
May 5th, 2008
3.9/6.0
At a Whiskycats gig you cannot help but be impressed by their brand of energetic funk and jazz, which means they soon have everyone in the crowd jiggling about merrily. Nor can you doubt that the band are all highly skilled musicians. They’re all disgustingly talented and could probably play any instrument with their eyes shut.
Unlike their live act, the vibrancy does not come across as well on a record. This is their first album, and on first listen the songs do merge a little into each other, making it very listenable but not particularly distinctive. It becomes one feel-good, ska-jazz-soul mash.
But that’s no bad thing. As I listened to the album, I felt like I’d been transported back to a different time. With its mixture of swing and jazz, it is like a movie soundtrack to a slick 1950s American film. Steady Freeloader and Slippers inspire me to host a swinging cocktail soiree – the type where the men dress in dinner jackets and women wear cocktail dresses, long gloves and beehives (not of not the scraggy Amy Winehouse variety). It evokes a swing style with a dash of soulful brass – Doris Day but less camp, Rat Pack but more sardonic.
Whiskycats seem to be having fun with their lyrics and with their music generally which comes across in the album. Their current single Slipped Disco is a ska drinking anthem, Dirtbox the Filth Queen has Eastern European tinges and the cheeky rhyming couplets of Steady Freeloader are a delight; “# How can you piss up a grand/ Is your head in the sand? #” They’re not just a talented bunch of musicians, they’re smart too. Bastards.
Favourites include Amsterdam, which is highly evocative of the city it is named after, conjuring up the glow of a red-light haze and a muffled weed-induced giggle. No doubt Whiskycats would go down very well in one of the city’s coffee shops. Also the trumpet in Plasticine Magazine is amazing.
The reason this album could just be snazzy background music – very enjoyable and evocative but not more – is because of a couple of weaker songs in the middle. However this should not take away from the brilliant songs on the album, nor the distinctive vibrancy that this band can produce live.
words: Catherine Bolsover
Whiskycats release Slipped Disco as a single on Monday, March 17th through Medical Records. A comprehensive tour follows including the official album launch in London at The Metro Club this Thursday, February 21st, and a three-night stand at various venues across Manchester – check the MySpace for full details.
Authors bio is coming up shortly.