SUMMER CATS Songs For Tuesdays (Slumberland Records)
Where were you in '92? If you were anything like some of us you were getting swept off your feet by the amazingly infectious sound of a new breed of indie pop bands who were pumping out catchy gems that were as just as hook laden as they were raw and energetic and feisty.
Summer Cats are a brand new band who just so happen to be channeling that same golden age of indie pop, with some pretty sizzling results! Featuring both female and male vocals, and songs with no wasted space, Songs For Tuesdays is an album that reminds us why we fell in love with bands like Superchunk, Velocity Girl, and Tsunami back in the day. They even manage to capture the full on pop side of The Breeders on some of these songs. Summer Cats are able to tap into that same kind of of wide eyed exuberant songcraft, whipping out the kind of summer (duh!) jams that are meant to be blasted LOUD on neverending summer days. Slumberland continues to be the label to trust when it comes to smart and satisfying pop done so right.
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sugar Sours Blog
Songs for Tuesday on Wednesday
Sugar Sours Blog
Monday July 13th
I'm not sure whether this was a happy coincidence or stroke of release date genius, but Summer Cats' debut full-length Songs For Tuesdays hit shelves yesterday (that's Tuesday)! Clocking in at 33 minutes, the Summer Cats were kind enough to supply the pop-world with 13 songs for every day of summer, including last year's jam "Lonely Planet." Take the fun of their Cloudberry or weePOP! singles and multiply it by thirteen and you should have a good idea of how much distorted guitar/keyboard/catchy bass/amazing vocal dancey-fun you're in for. If you've never heard their singles, think Honeybunch playing garage pop. Sounds nice, eh? You can pick up a copy from Slumberland on CD or pretty color splatter vinyl.
http://sugarsours.blogspot.com/2009/07/songs-for-tuesdays-on-wednesday.html
My work computer has started to go a little on the oingo boingo side, and not really coping with all this saving and uploading of pics right now!
Sugar Sours Blog
Monday July 13th
I'm not sure whether this was a happy coincidence or stroke of release date genius, but Summer Cats' debut full-length Songs For Tuesdays hit shelves yesterday (that's Tuesday)! Clocking in at 33 minutes, the Summer Cats were kind enough to supply the pop-world with 13 songs for every day of summer, including last year's jam "Lonely Planet." Take the fun of their Cloudberry or weePOP! singles and multiply it by thirteen and you should have a good idea of how much distorted guitar/keyboard/catchy bass/amazing vocal dancey-fun you're in for. If you've never heard their singles, think Honeybunch playing garage pop. Sounds nice, eh? You can pick up a copy from Slumberland on CD or pretty color splatter vinyl.
http://sugarsours.blogspot.com/2009/07/songs-for-tuesdays-on-wednesday.html
My work computer has started to go a little on the oingo boingo side, and not really coping with all this saving and uploading of pics right now!
Cloudberry
We love Cloudberry..
Another release you shouldn’t miss at all is the Summer Cats debut album “Songs for Tuesdays”! I still need to get it on vinyl, but I’ve had listened the CD version and it is indeed one of the best this year. Slumberland has done a great job the past months releasing some of the best indiepop bands around like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Liechtenstein, and now after more than a decade, one Earthmen gets a release again on the bay area label. I really recommend this album, and it includes two Cloudberry favourites: “Lonely Planet” and “Wild Rice”.
Roque - Cloudberry Records
http://cloudberryrecords.com
Another release you shouldn’t miss at all is the Summer Cats debut album “Songs for Tuesdays”! I still need to get it on vinyl, but I’ve had listened the CD version and it is indeed one of the best this year. Slumberland has done a great job the past months releasing some of the best indiepop bands around like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Liechtenstein, and now after more than a decade, one Earthmen gets a release again on the bay area label. I really recommend this album, and it includes two Cloudberry favourites: “Lonely Planet” and “Wild Rice”.
Roque - Cloudberry Records
http://cloudberryrecords.com
Under the Radar (Again)
Summer Cats- Songs for Tuesdays
Under the Radar
July 26th 2009
By Kyle Lemmon
If this summer didn't already have a glut of anthems to soundtrack your next sunburn, Slumberland Records have some indie pop heroes to introduce to you. Summer Cats stick their feet in the door before the fall turns on their winsome debut, Songs For Tuesdays. The Melbourne quintet’s aesthetic is a teen angst-addled conflation of Stereolab’s thrust and The Smiths’ melancholia. Throwing in references to several C86 groups helps too. Summer Cats' pop is not as obscured as labelmates The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Liechtenstein though. These 13 tracks often glom time-honored '60s charms and leave the innovation for their gloomier brethren.
The barely 30-minutes album flies by as lead vocalist Scott Stevens clicks off the usual warm-weather signifiers: "burning rubber," taking "cute" girls to the movies, and scoring on the first date all scream past in the rear-view mirror. Summer Cats make ecstatic jangle-pop made for your next trip to the beach. At last, the memories of a summer foolin’ around will ultimately fade and Songs For Tuesdays’ flimsy setup quickly becomes tedious. “In June” and “Wild Rice” string together Summer Cats’ finest series of guitar hooks and boy-girl chants but most of this album is as varied as the sand you’d place your towel on.
http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/songs_for_tuesdays/
Under the Radar
July 26th 2009
By Kyle Lemmon
If this summer didn't already have a glut of anthems to soundtrack your next sunburn, Slumberland Records have some indie pop heroes to introduce to you. Summer Cats stick their feet in the door before the fall turns on their winsome debut, Songs For Tuesdays. The Melbourne quintet’s aesthetic is a teen angst-addled conflation of Stereolab’s thrust and The Smiths’ melancholia. Throwing in references to several C86 groups helps too. Summer Cats' pop is not as obscured as labelmates The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Liechtenstein though. These 13 tracks often glom time-honored '60s charms and leave the innovation for their gloomier brethren.
The barely 30-minutes album flies by as lead vocalist Scott Stevens clicks off the usual warm-weather signifiers: "burning rubber," taking "cute" girls to the movies, and scoring on the first date all scream past in the rear-view mirror. Summer Cats make ecstatic jangle-pop made for your next trip to the beach. At last, the memories of a summer foolin’ around will ultimately fade and Songs For Tuesdays’ flimsy setup quickly becomes tedious. “In June” and “Wild Rice” string together Summer Cats’ finest series of guitar hooks and boy-girl chants but most of this album is as varied as the sand you’d place your towel on.
http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/songs_for_tuesdays/
The bads
ouch... I guess we gotta take the bad with the good! ....
Daily Tar Heel Blog
Summer Cats
Songs for Tuesdays
Rock/Pop
1.5 of 5 stars
Songs for Tuesdays may be the most appropriately titled CD I’ve ever listened to.Taking bits of other people’s pop-rock and reassembling them without much sense of purpose, the second full-length from this Australian sextet isn’t nearly good enough to add to the soundtrack of your next weekend rager. But by the time you polish off your third happy hour pint, you might not care how crappy it is anymore.
Buoyant enough to please in patches, but lacking the melodic control to make good on its bright, well-produced sound, Songs is the kind of record that drills itself into your head even though you don’t want it to.
Every trick here feels stolen. Opener “Let’s Go!” is a disheveled mess of the Raveonettes’ psych-inspired garage rock, and “Maybe Pie” makes a lame Cure impression even lamer by wrapping it around horrible lines like, “Your kiss is definitely at the top of my list.”
But despite all the annoying rehash on this album there are actually two songs worth holding on to.“Wild Rice” is a lovely Sonic Youth-inspired siren song that’s driven home by the striking use of a Bob Dylan Inc. harmonica fill, and closer “Paperweight” is a frothy summer jam with one of the most irresistible keyboard parts you’ll hear all year.
But none of this is enough to save Songs for Tuesdays. Lacking both originality and the craftiness to make other people’s tricks feel fresh, the record has more in common with that copy machine you use at work than the music you use to unwind.
-Jordan Lawrence
Daily Tar Heel
Now personal opinion (Julia, I won't spread bad words on behalf of the rest of the band whilst they're out of the country) but this guy is a douchebag! ... BUT.. it's our first video review!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eM9XZIANdU
Daily Tar Heel Blog
Summer Cats
Songs for Tuesdays
Rock/Pop
1.5 of 5 stars
Songs for Tuesdays may be the most appropriately titled CD I’ve ever listened to.Taking bits of other people’s pop-rock and reassembling them without much sense of purpose, the second full-length from this Australian sextet isn’t nearly good enough to add to the soundtrack of your next weekend rager. But by the time you polish off your third happy hour pint, you might not care how crappy it is anymore.
Buoyant enough to please in patches, but lacking the melodic control to make good on its bright, well-produced sound, Songs is the kind of record that drills itself into your head even though you don’t want it to.
Every trick here feels stolen. Opener “Let’s Go!” is a disheveled mess of the Raveonettes’ psych-inspired garage rock, and “Maybe Pie” makes a lame Cure impression even lamer by wrapping it around horrible lines like, “Your kiss is definitely at the top of my list.”
But despite all the annoying rehash on this album there are actually two songs worth holding on to.“Wild Rice” is a lovely Sonic Youth-inspired siren song that’s driven home by the striking use of a Bob Dylan Inc. harmonica fill, and closer “Paperweight” is a frothy summer jam with one of the most irresistible keyboard parts you’ll hear all year.
But none of this is enough to save Songs for Tuesdays. Lacking both originality and the craftiness to make other people’s tricks feel fresh, the record has more in common with that copy machine you use at work than the music you use to unwind.
-Jordan Lawrence
Daily Tar Heel
Now personal opinion (Julia, I won't spread bad words on behalf of the rest of the band whilst they're out of the country) but this guy is a douchebag! ... BUT.. it's our first video review!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eM9XZIANdU
Chunnel TV - Super vid clip!
Summer Cats - Superby diggs, July.16.2009
Australian based Summer Cats recently dropped their debut LP "Songs for Tuesdays" on Slumberland Records. Their infectious brand of lo-fi indie pop can be seen in their new single Super. The video for Super is well done, it's kind of like a tripped out Mod fantasy with some really hot twiggy-esque chicks and Gauloises Blondes cigarettes. Slumberland is also home to Brooklyn legends The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. Nice job guys!
Chunnel TV
The Stranger- Seattle
Underage
Summer Cats' Sunny Indie Pop
by Casey Catherwood
July 14th 2009
As far as independent punk labels go, Slumberland Records can pretty much do no wrong. In its 20-year run of putting out awesome records by bands like the Swirlies, Black Tambourine, and the Aislers Set, the label has acted as a premier outlet for reverb-soaked, lo-fi, alternately sunshiney and saddo bedroom pop. That sound has made a major resurgence in the past year, and, appropriately, the label is back at the forefront of things following a five-year hiatus, resuming a regular release schedule with new records by indie-pop acts such as the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Crystal Stilts, and Cause Co-Motion!
With this week's release of Songs for Tuesdays, the debut LP from Melbourne, Australia's Summer Cats, Slumberland continues its nefarious plan to take over your stereo. It's winter in the band's hometown, but true to their name, Summer Cats sound like they've never been cold in their lives. Songs for Tuesdays is packed full of skuzzy guitars, straightforward drums, and jacked-up keyboards in service of poppy, fun-bent tracks perfect for rocking a basement on a Friday night.
As luck would have it, the band are bringing their shining faces to Seattle's New Crompton this Friday, July 17, and if their live show feels anything like their album sounds, wear your sunblock, 'cause shit's going to be HOT.
The Stranger
Summer Cats' Sunny Indie Pop
by Casey Catherwood
July 14th 2009
As far as independent punk labels go, Slumberland Records can pretty much do no wrong. In its 20-year run of putting out awesome records by bands like the Swirlies, Black Tambourine, and the Aislers Set, the label has acted as a premier outlet for reverb-soaked, lo-fi, alternately sunshiney and saddo bedroom pop. That sound has made a major resurgence in the past year, and, appropriately, the label is back at the forefront of things following a five-year hiatus, resuming a regular release schedule with new records by indie-pop acts such as the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Crystal Stilts, and Cause Co-Motion!
With this week's release of Songs for Tuesdays, the debut LP from Melbourne, Australia's Summer Cats, Slumberland continues its nefarious plan to take over your stereo. It's winter in the band's hometown, but true to their name, Summer Cats sound like they've never been cold in their lives. Songs for Tuesdays is packed full of skuzzy guitars, straightforward drums, and jacked-up keyboards in service of poppy, fun-bent tracks perfect for rocking a basement on a Friday night.
As luck would have it, the band are bringing their shining faces to Seattle's New Crompton this Friday, July 17, and if their live show feels anything like their album sounds, wear your sunblock, 'cause shit's going to be HOT.
The Stranger
Last FM Review
Aw..
Lastfm
Summer Cats are two girls and three boys from Melbourne, Australia. Like most people from Melbourne, they spend their time either: a) enjoying summer or b) waiting for summer to arrive.
Lastfm
Summer Cats are two girls and three boys from Melbourne, Australia. Like most people from Melbourne, they spend their time either: a) enjoying summer or b) waiting for summer to arrive.
They play crash pop in an attempt to make you dance, so if you feel the urge…go right ahead! Musically they are somewhat of a cross between Stereolab and the Go-Betweens…or is that Talulah Gosh and the Left Banke?
After playing only two shows, they managed to get a three and a half star review on Pitchfork for one of their demos. This then led to them thinking they could have a chat with the rest of world, and they have since been busy trying to do just that.
They currently have a split 7” released on Knock Yr Socks Off Records, a 3” three track CDR on Cloudberry records, and released their debut EP, Scratching Post on Popboomerang Records in December 2007 which has lead to a small amount of people saying nice things! They also have a CD out on WeePOP, a split 7” with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart on Slumberland and a 7” on Cloudberry records. Their debut LP is due out in 2009!
Best played loud in your bedroom when your parents are out or while riding your bicycle around town!
Last FM Summer Cats Review Page
(At the moment we have 24,832 plays (4,063 listeners) and 15 shouts, woowee!)
The Baebel Blog
The Baebel Blog
Friday, July 10, 2009
Here's a record that'll fight the criminally rapid pace of the summer months, courtesy of the appropriately titled band, Summer Cats. The 13 tracks offered on their debut Songs for Tuesdays (Slumberland), along with the undeniably intricate and colorful artwork that accompanies it, has enough force to prevent our hollowed streets from ever feeling the crispy texture of an autumn leaf, or the chilling sensation of a winter snowflake. And so we welcome you Summer Cats, with a fitting ray of joy.
Formed in 2006, the Australian band is compromised of five members; Hugh, Irene, Julia, Scott B. and Scott S. With a kitchy blend of female and male vocals, plus the sounds of tambourines, shakers and handclaps, Summer Cats precisely combine old jingles of the '60s with a catchy, more modern pop feel. Not only that, Songs For Tuesdays offers no hints of insecurity. The Summer Cats know their sound.
First track Let's Go, is an ideal opener (and the title speaks for itself). We suggest playing this one in the mornings, when the alarm clock ticks to that ghastly number that insists the day ensue. Though still groggy from the wee hours, expect the verses to roll of your tongue. Hell, you might even greet the day with a tap of your foot, as the band diffuses the gap between indie rock and pop on songs like "Super" and "Fulton Girls". We normally don't harp over tracks that mimic the typical female, male I'm in love with you duet, but In June would be unbearable to skip over. The song paints a scene where lovers yearn for each other when they are apart. We know...sounds clich.
But In June is without a doubt, the stand-out number from this album. The vocals are so pleasantly soothing, and the track plays like an indie lullaby. Slumberland Records plans to release Songs For Tuesdays on July 14th...though the title might be misleading. These songs can illuminate everyday, not just Tuesdays.
- Lonnie Nemiroff
Baebel
IODA Marketing Russell's Blog Review
Wednesday 29th July
Hey hey, it’s twee power pop! Which can only be a good thing, seeing how much I love a bit of power pop. OK, Let’s Go might not be knock kneed twee, but it does have its sensitive side. Hey You is where the Pooh Sticks meet The Beach Boys, sun in its heart and a keen way with a melody. Super chirrups by on an organ wave, while In June is a gorgeously strummed indie pop duet, shining brightly. Wild Rice sees them stake a claim to take on The Lucksmiths kings of indie pop mantle, Christopher Wren is another sumptuous jangly popper, but Maybe Pile sees more of the same. The album is becoming a little repetitious, but let’s be honest; the standard is pretty darn good so it doesn’t matter. Maybe Pile is in fact one of the better tracks, with a warm syrupy effect to the singers voice. Lonely Planet channels the spirit of rock n roll through a shaky indie pop tune, rocking from side to side. Camel Cords reminds me of keyboard led sixties garage rock fun, while St Tropez jingles away for a dream of far off places and more fun times. It’s a celebratory penultimate track on a neat album. It would have made a better end than Paperweight, which although decent, is fairly nondescript.
Russell's Blog
indie mp-3 Review
Reviews are so exciting! ...
First off, I’d like to do a quick introduction. My name is Doug. I’ll be the new contributor. I’m excited to be here. Like most of you guys, I’ve been following indie-mp3 forever. I’ll try hard to steer you to some great music.
First, let’s start with Summer Cats. This five piece band from Australia is on one of my favorite labels, Slumberland Records. Us bloggers should get together and give Slumberland some sort of award. I don’t think they’ve released a bad record yet this year. So it comes as no surprise to hear me say good things about Summer Cats and their debut album, Songs For Tuesday.
I’ve had the album for a few days now but just now found the time to give it a good listen. The album falls right into place with the sound Slumberland is putting out right now. It’s guitar pop with just a hint of noise pop. The band could never get away with a name like Summer Cats without having summery songs. A lot of their songs have an early 90’s indie sound. You can tell they are influenced by bands like Heavenly. I think one my favorite songs on the album is Wild Rice. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the harmonica. It reminds me of The Housemartins, so that always makes me happy. I think it sounds a little more full than some of the other songs too.
Oh, and go to Slumberland’s website. www.slumberlandrecords.com
They have a picture of the Summer Cat’s vinyl on the main page. I seriously want that thing. It’s awesome looking.
indiemp3
First off, I’d like to do a quick introduction. My name is Doug. I’ll be the new contributor. I’m excited to be here. Like most of you guys, I’ve been following indie-mp3 forever. I’ll try hard to steer you to some great music.First, let’s start with Summer Cats. This five piece band from Australia is on one of my favorite labels, Slumberland Records. Us bloggers should get together and give Slumberland some sort of award. I don’t think they’ve released a bad record yet this year. So it comes as no surprise to hear me say good things about Summer Cats and their debut album, Songs For Tuesday.
I’ve had the album for a few days now but just now found the time to give it a good listen. The album falls right into place with the sound Slumberland is putting out right now. It’s guitar pop with just a hint of noise pop. The band could never get away with a name like Summer Cats without having summery songs. A lot of their songs have an early 90’s indie sound. You can tell they are influenced by bands like Heavenly. I think one my favorite songs on the album is Wild Rice. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s the harmonica. It reminds me of The Housemartins, so that always makes me happy. I think it sounds a little more full than some of the other songs too.
Oh, and go to Slumberland’s website. www.slumberlandrecords.com
They have a picture of the Summer Cat’s vinyl on the main page. I seriously want that thing. It’s awesome looking.
indiemp3
Blurt Online Review
Slumberland Recordswww.slumberlandrecords.com
29th July 2009
Had Australia's Summer Cats been around in the early ‘90s ,at the height of the indie pop explosion, they would no doubt have been on one of the trio of Washington, DC area pop labels: Slumberland , Simple Machines or Teen Beat (Simple Machines faded out years ago and Teen Beat, while still active, is much more sporadically releasing records). The Slumberland label, after a move to the west coast in the early ‘90s, is still going strong and this hyperactive pop outfit seems to be a perfect fit on a label that has given us Rocketship, The Ropers, Aislers Set, the early recordings of Velocity Girl and too many others.
From the opening cut of "Let's Go" you know where you're headed, down bumpy road on a sunny day in the old , battered car you love with the windows rolled down and the stereo turned up up up. "Hey You" has this great, jittery, scratchy guitar work while "Super" (and "Christopher Wren") has the same kind of keyboards we fell in love with the first time we heard the Clean's "Tally Ho" and "In June" is a pure janglefest that brings to mind classic early recordings by The Razorcuts and Primal Scream. The sounds here are instantly familiar and while Songs for Tuesdays isn't the most original record you'll hear this year it's a comfortable fit, just like those Bermuda shorts you seem to wear way too often. You know they need a wash every now and again but you don't want to ever take them off.
Standout Tracks: "Maybe Pile", "Super", "In June", "Lonely Planet"
From the opening cut of "Let's Go" you know where you're headed, down bumpy road on a sunny day in the old , battered car you love with the windows rolled down and the stereo turned up up up. "Hey You" has this great, jittery, scratchy guitar work while "Super" (and "Christopher Wren") has the same kind of keyboards we fell in love with the first time we heard the Clean's "Tally Ho" and "In June" is a pure janglefest that brings to mind classic early recordings by The Razorcuts and Primal Scream. The sounds here are instantly familiar and while Songs for Tuesdays isn't the most original record you'll hear this year it's a comfortable fit, just like those Bermuda shorts you seem to wear way too often. You know they need a wash every now and again but you don't want to ever take them off.
Standout Tracks: "Maybe Pile", "Super", "In June", "Lonely Planet"
by TIM HINELY
Stark Online - Super Vid
Super- Video Clip13th July 2009
Although we usually like to run these joints on Friday, today seems to be a fairly slow news day and there is a surprising plate of nice videos that have been hitting recently. Even though we really despise the whole cat themed thing (apologies to Karp) we're still making this video from Slumberland artists Summer Cats our lead. Besides their penchant for annoying felines, this band knows how to write a catchy summer pop jam, and in fact wrote a whole album of them. Songs for Tuesdays comes out tomorrow (Tuesday). Hah. Oy.
Our Video is on stark online here
Beyond Race Magazine
Summer Cats- Songs for Tuesdays
30th July 2009
Sun’s out and surf’s up for Aussie pop quintet Summer Cats’ debut full-length LP, Songs For Tuesdays, which is as cheerful and light hearted as its name suggests. Hailing from Melbourne, Summer Cats have a ’60s beach-pop flavor with hints of shoegaze and rock elements for a more sophisticated, contemporary sound.
Released under Slumberland Records, Songs For Tuesdays seems like the perfect warm weather release even from the initial glance of the tracklist, with song titles such as “In June” and “St. Tropez” (not to mention the band’s name itself). But breezy melodies from “Christopher Wren” and “Wild Rice”—harmonica and all—take the album sailing.
“Lonely Planet,” one of the stronger picks from the album, opens with a rubbery bass that soon gives way to dream-weaving vocals that channel influences like the Beach Boys and contemporary indie rock bands Voxtrot and Phoenix.
Fast paced, mini tracks “Fulton Gurls” and “Super” are each less than two minutes long, but are still full of light summer jamming—something Summer Cats are all about. The nice thing about that is that it makes Songs For Tuesdays an easy, enjoyable listening experience. However, the album lacks depth and growth.
The album’s stunted growth is most clear when you realize the two strongest tracks—“Let’s Go!” and “Hey You”—were both first and second on the album’s set list, respectively. While this gives Songs For Tuesdays a strong start, it also doesn’t provide the rest of the album the opportunity to gain momentum.
The flip side is that for an upbeat party album, Songs For Tuesdays hits all the marks and does everything right. It’s not necessarily a listen for the deep thinker, but there should be at least one song from this band on everyone’s summer play list.
-Matthew Anderson
Beyond Race Magazine
Soundproof Magazine
Summer CatsSongs for Tuesdays(Slumberland)
SOUNDS LIKE: House Martin-style ultra catchy indie pop for cool cats.
By: Anna Dobbie
WHY/WHY NOT: Don’t judge a book (or album) by its cover, unless it’s the debut from this cutesy Australian five-piece. The technicolor explosion of rainbows and cut-out critters represents the shiny happy world as seen through the rose-tinted sunglasses of these wide-eyed young kittens. Their sunny optimism is expressed in surfer keyboards over jangly guitars and layered vocals on "Let’s Go" and the summery, '60s-style "Super". Their lyrics are refreshingly lacking in angst and pretensions and the girly vocals from synthstress Irene sweetly compliment the songs. Although, despite pleasantly upbeat melodies, sometimes they fail to sink their claws in and grab you, and your concentration flutters away.
Soundproof Review
Heave MEDIA review
Nice pictorial review.... love an ice cream eating cat!
Summer Cats are Dirty Rock From Down Under
by Miguel Harvey
Listening to the debut LP from the winsome Melbourne quintet, Summer Cats, presented problems, largely stemming from my inability to dissociate the concept of “summer cat” from this image:
(insert above image of cat licking ice cream)
Ever dutiful, I persevered, and discovered upon further review that Songs For Tuesdays is a mostly charming exercise in warm-weather jangle and can-do attitude that begs to be blasted from your car, windows down.
The album opens with “Let’s Go,” a well-executed psych-surf workout featuring a front-of-the-mix organ that would not be out of place on one of the legendary “Nuggets” recordings of the late 1960s. A deceptively simple hook, fittingly featuring the lyric “let’s go,” gives way to a “na na na” sing-along chorus that does proud the girl groups it emulates. The catchiness of the opener surfaces continually through much of the record’s brisk thirty-minute runtime, particularly in late-album beach party “St. Tropez,” a fantasist’s “anywhere-but-here” exploration of the band’s disparate influences. The presentation of a choice between playing kissy-face with Nico and starting a bar-fight with Bob Dylan has likely never been so well-stated. Ask Lou Reed, I suppose.
It isn’t all smiles. The record is occasionally beset by inconsistent songwriting and moments of instrumental weakness. The well-intentioned rocker “Fulton Gurls” misses the mark in its attempt to approximate Elvis Costello, whose early records with the Attractions are a particular touchstone for the band. Later in the record, the witty concept and nice guitar work of “Maybe Pile” is offset by a forced drum beat and poor vocal phrasing. The worst offender is the multi-section “Camel Cords,” which juxtaposes complex instrumental changes with an undeveloped and slightly off-key melody to nearly disastrous effect.
Still, there is much to like about the band and its potential. Album highlight “Wilde Rice” recalls the great Scottish pop of the past decade and features one of the nicer vocal performances I’ve heard this year. The memorable catch-line of the verse imploring a lover to “talk about the weather” is a first-class hook, as well as a nice lyrical nod to the brief detour the song offers from the album’s generally sunny aesthetic. “
Rice” and the engaging Rhodes piano-featuring “Christopher Wren” suggest that we can expect great things as the band matures and finds a more consistent songwriting voice. Bonus points awarded for great production throughout the record.
Double points for the cute cover art. Really, it’s seriously fucking adorable, with birds.
HIGH POINT: A compelling grab-bag of influences, a great attitude, and some memorable moments add up to a promising debut from a group to look out for.
LOW POINT: Inconsistent songwriting and occasionally uneven playing are hallmarks of a young band finding its voice.
Full article on Heave Media
Summer Cats are Dirty Rock From Down Under by Miguel Harvey
Listening to the debut LP from the winsome Melbourne quintet, Summer Cats, presented problems, largely stemming from my inability to dissociate the concept of “summer cat” from this image:
(insert above image of cat licking ice cream)
Ever dutiful, I persevered, and discovered upon further review that Songs For Tuesdays is a mostly charming exercise in warm-weather jangle and can-do attitude that begs to be blasted from your car, windows down.
The album opens with “Let’s Go,” a well-executed psych-surf workout featuring a front-of-the-mix organ that would not be out of place on one of the legendary “Nuggets” recordings of the late 1960s. A deceptively simple hook, fittingly featuring the lyric “let’s go,” gives way to a “na na na” sing-along chorus that does proud the girl groups it emulates. The catchiness of the opener surfaces continually through much of the record’s brisk thirty-minute runtime, particularly in late-album beach party “St. Tropez,” a fantasist’s “anywhere-but-here” exploration of the band’s disparate influences. The presentation of a choice between playing kissy-face with Nico and starting a bar-fight with Bob Dylan has likely never been so well-stated. Ask Lou Reed, I suppose.
It isn’t all smiles. The record is occasionally beset by inconsistent songwriting and moments of instrumental weakness. The well-intentioned rocker “Fulton Gurls” misses the mark in its attempt to approximate Elvis Costello, whose early records with the Attractions are a particular touchstone for the band. Later in the record, the witty concept and nice guitar work of “Maybe Pile” is offset by a forced drum beat and poor vocal phrasing. The worst offender is the multi-section “Camel Cords,” which juxtaposes complex instrumental changes with an undeveloped and slightly off-key melody to nearly disastrous effect.
Still, there is much to like about the band and its potential. Album highlight “Wilde Rice” recalls the great Scottish pop of the past decade and features one of the nicer vocal performances I’ve heard this year. The memorable catch-line of the verse imploring a lover to “talk about the weather” is a first-class hook, as well as a nice lyrical nod to the brief detour the song offers from the album’s generally sunny aesthetic. “
Rice” and the engaging Rhodes piano-featuring “Christopher Wren” suggest that we can expect great things as the band matures and finds a more consistent songwriting voice. Bonus points awarded for great production throughout the record.
Double points for the cute cover art. Really, it’s seriously fucking adorable, with birds.
HIGH POINT: A compelling grab-bag of influences, a great attitude, and some memorable moments add up to a promising debut from a group to look out for.
LOW POINT: Inconsistent songwriting and occasionally uneven playing are hallmarks of a young band finding its voice.
Full article on Heave Media
Parasites & Sycophants
Great banner pic!
Australia’s Summer Cats debut Songs for Tuesdays
Tuesday July 28, 2009
Australia’s Summer Cats debut Songs for TuesdaysTuesday July 28, 2009
Mixing fuzzy guitars and keys with jangle, feedback, and other things pop, Australia’s Summer Cats bring Songs for Tuesdays. Released on Slumberland earlier this month, The Melbourne five-piece come with all the perfect indie pop reflections of the label’s own 90’s releases and more. Thirteen tracks of good times, with nary a bad track, though you will certainly find some standout favorites.
http://www.parasitesandsycophants.com/2009/07/28/australias-summer-cats-debut-songs-for-tuesdays/
Neon Filler Review
Mog / Neon Filler Review Review- Songs for Tuesdays
23rd July 2009
With nothing in the weeks releases that grabbed me I decided to pick an album that I knew nothing about. This is a tactic that has brought me great rewards in the past, but also unearthed some real stinkers. The album I chose was Songs For Tuesdays by Summer Cats, and it definitely falls into the former category.
Released on Slumberland Records, a label that has released records by Velocity Girl, 14 Iced Bears, Stereolab and, more recently, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart it is in perfect company. The album is like a compilation of all the best indie pop sounds of the last 25 years.
Summer Cats are from Melbourne, home to another notable indie pop act Architecture In Helsinki, and they aren't afraid of wearing their influences on their sleeve. That isn't to say that they are slavish copyists, but you can hear influences throughout the record. And it is a record that achieves something pretty special by every song sounding different to the last, without losing a cohesive identity.
Opener 'Let's Go' is reminiscent of Superchunk, 'Hey You' a lo-fi Apples in Stereo. 'Maybe Pile' The Go-Betweens and on 'St. Tropez' there is even a little Camper Van Beethoven going on. Elsewhere on the record I hear elements of The New Pornographers, The Tyde and The Pastels. All that and more, including single 'Super', comes across in thirteen fuzz and jangle pop nuggets, only one song breaking the 3 minute barrier.
Normally I would shy a way from an album that is so backward looking, but it is impossible not to be pulled in by the shear fun and energy of it. There isn't a duff track on the album and despite some overly fuzzy production it sounds great.
Sure, it isn't the kind of record that is going to change the face of music. And I'd be surprised if the band receive more than a small, but loyal, following. But so what? It is a great and uplifting slice of the true spirit of indie pop. If you enjoy any of the bands mentioned in this review, or any other fun indie pop from the last 25 years then I can't recommend this enough.
9/10
Neonfiller
Music Remedy
A very kind review from Music Remedy..
Summer is the perfect season for pure, catchy indie pop, and while it’s just turning to winter for Australia’s Summer Cats, Slumberland is excited to ring in North America’s warmest months with their debut full-length, Songs for Tuesdays! Building on their single releases, including 7?s on Cloudberry, Slumberland and Knock Yr. Socks Off, two 3? CDRs on Cloudberry and WeePOP! and their Scratching Post EP on Popboomerang, Summer Cats’ debut album is all set to deliver on the promise of their already impressive discography, not to mention the 3 1/2-star review they garnered from Pitchfork, after only their second live performance.
Summer Cats play upbeat pop songs in a Stereolab-meets-Go-Betweens style, replete with distorted keyboards, feedback guitars and hook-laden basslines and all accompanied by Scott Stevens’ distinctive vocals. They are best played loud, in your bedroom, while your parents are out. The Melbourne five-piece not only know how to write addictive pop songs with just a hint of ’60s garage edge–catchy numbers like “Super” and “Lonely Planet”–they also know their indie pop history. Nowhere is this more evident than on stand-out mid-album tracks like the boy-girl duet “In June”, which could easily be the best Velocity Girl or Earthmen song of 2009, and the jangle-pop of “Wild Rice”, which recalls the folky early-’90s Rhode Island indie scene of Slumberland faves Small Factory and Honeybunch.
This side of Songs for Tuesdays brings back the feeling of the our classic collaboration with another Australian indie powerhouse, Summershine Records, the Just a Taste compilation.None of which, of course, is to suggest that Summer Cats are looking backwards. They have already shared sides of wax with similar modern day pop groups like Eux Autres and labelmates The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and are set to keep the momentum going with the upbeat, danceable 33 minutes of fun that is Songs for Tuesdays.
Due for release on July 14, it’s sure to be part of another bumper year for the band.
Music Remedy review is here
Summer is the perfect season for pure, catchy indie pop, and while it’s just turning to winter for Australia’s Summer Cats, Slumberland is excited to ring in North America’s warmest months with their debut full-length, Songs for Tuesdays! Building on their single releases, including 7?s on Cloudberry, Slumberland and Knock Yr. Socks Off, two 3? CDRs on Cloudberry and WeePOP! and their Scratching Post EP on Popboomerang, Summer Cats’ debut album is all set to deliver on the promise of their already impressive discography, not to mention the 3 1/2-star review they garnered from Pitchfork, after only their second live performance.Summer Cats play upbeat pop songs in a Stereolab-meets-Go-Betweens style, replete with distorted keyboards, feedback guitars and hook-laden basslines and all accompanied by Scott Stevens’ distinctive vocals. They are best played loud, in your bedroom, while your parents are out. The Melbourne five-piece not only know how to write addictive pop songs with just a hint of ’60s garage edge–catchy numbers like “Super” and “Lonely Planet”–they also know their indie pop history. Nowhere is this more evident than on stand-out mid-album tracks like the boy-girl duet “In June”, which could easily be the best Velocity Girl or Earthmen song of 2009, and the jangle-pop of “Wild Rice”, which recalls the folky early-’90s Rhode Island indie scene of Slumberland faves Small Factory and Honeybunch.
This side of Songs for Tuesdays brings back the feeling of the our classic collaboration with another Australian indie powerhouse, Summershine Records, the Just a Taste compilation.None of which, of course, is to suggest that Summer Cats are looking backwards. They have already shared sides of wax with similar modern day pop groups like Eux Autres and labelmates The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and are set to keep the momentum going with the upbeat, danceable 33 minutes of fun that is Songs for Tuesdays.
Due for release on July 14, it’s sure to be part of another bumper year for the band.
Music Remedy review is here
Dryvetyme Onlyne
Great line! "If you could imagine a record made by Belle & Sebastian’s annoyingly, yet loveable, hyperactive baby sibling" hehe.
Being deemed “cute” can prove to be a death knell for any grown-up artist or band’s burgeoning career. You’re instantly pegged with other modifiers such as precious, charming, and bubble-gum, and then forced to work uphill to prove that you’re not some sort of joke. As appealing as one’s fresh, upbeat pop sound might be, music critics and fans are often unfortunately prejudiced against such sonic textures, considering only “serious” music to be of long-lasting worth. True, such practices are quite unfair, but look at it from the opposite angle: there’s a wealth of examples to bear in mind where fun, cutesy, novelty acts have captured our attention for an instant before passing away into the night.
This is the road that Summer Cats has to traverse on its debut full-length, Songs For Tuesdays. The happy-go-lucky Australian quintet definitely knows how to craft bright, smart, and shiny pop music, doing so with a great appreciation and awareness of musical history. With influences that rang from Stereolab and sour ‘80s pop to ‘50s bop and ‘60s twee garage pop, the band makes its mark with an intensely engaging over-the-top energy that makes me a bit reminiscent for the simpler, sweeter times in life.
Songs For Tuesdays is built upon a thick, spongy bed of bouncy, fun tempos, affable vocal melodies and harmonies, and uncomplicated pop song construction. Led by “In June,” “Wild Rice,” “Christopher Wren,” and “Lonely Planet,” sugary tunes that are barely three minutes in duration make for a familiar, friendly sonic palette from which Summer Cats paints.
Unfortunately, as evinced most notably with “Super,” “Maybe Pile,” “Camel Cords,” and “St. Tropez,” there are times when the “cutesy” really starts grating on the listener’s ears, especially as these tracks also feature the band’s most peculiar lyrical material.
If you could imagine a record made by Belle & Sebastian’s annoyingly, yet loveable, hyperactive baby sibling, you might have an idea of what Songs For Tuesdays inevitably sounds like. Seeing as how this outfit hails from a country with a substantial and much heralded beach culture, Summer Cats has certainly crafted a fun-loving album that would find a welcome home at any summertime beach party.
Dryvetyme online can be read here
Dryvetyme Onlyne Blogspot- Album Review
July 14th 2009
Being deemed “cute” can prove to be a death knell for any grown-up artist or band’s burgeoning career. You’re instantly pegged with other modifiers such as precious, charming, and bubble-gum, and then forced to work uphill to prove that you’re not some sort of joke. As appealing as one’s fresh, upbeat pop sound might be, music critics and fans are often unfortunately prejudiced against such sonic textures, considering only “serious” music to be of long-lasting worth. True, such practices are quite unfair, but look at it from the opposite angle: there’s a wealth of examples to bear in mind where fun, cutesy, novelty acts have captured our attention for an instant before passing away into the night.
This is the road that Summer Cats has to traverse on its debut full-length, Songs For Tuesdays. The happy-go-lucky Australian quintet definitely knows how to craft bright, smart, and shiny pop music, doing so with a great appreciation and awareness of musical history. With influences that rang from Stereolab and sour ‘80s pop to ‘50s bop and ‘60s twee garage pop, the band makes its mark with an intensely engaging over-the-top energy that makes me a bit reminiscent for the simpler, sweeter times in life.
Songs For Tuesdays is built upon a thick, spongy bed of bouncy, fun tempos, affable vocal melodies and harmonies, and uncomplicated pop song construction. Led by “In June,” “Wild Rice,” “Christopher Wren,” and “Lonely Planet,” sugary tunes that are barely three minutes in duration make for a familiar, friendly sonic palette from which Summer Cats paints.
Unfortunately, as evinced most notably with “Super,” “Maybe Pile,” “Camel Cords,” and “St. Tropez,” there are times when the “cutesy” really starts grating on the listener’s ears, especially as these tracks also feature the band’s most peculiar lyrical material.
If you could imagine a record made by Belle & Sebastian’s annoyingly, yet loveable, hyperactive baby sibling, you might have an idea of what Songs For Tuesdays inevitably sounds like. Seeing as how this outfit hails from a country with a substantial and much heralded beach culture, Summer Cats has certainly crafted a fun-loving album that would find a welcome home at any summertime beach party.
Dryvetyme online can be read here
Boomkat
Australian band Summer Cats arrive at Slumberland with their debut album, Songs For Tuesdays, full of excitable, upbeat pop that Slumberland quite reasonably compare to the Go-Betweens - and perhaps there's a suggestion of Pains Of Being Pure Of Heart in there too. Songs like 'Wild Rice' populate the album with two-and-a-half minute doses of joyous indie-rock classicism, full of impeccably mellifluous guitar jangle and swoonsome boy-girl vocals. It's an altogether different side to the band than that shown on early, exclamatory numbers 'Let's Go!' and 'Hey You', whose fuzz-marinated chords take on a sticky garage tone. Most appealing.Downloads available at Boomkat
Summer Cats- Songs for Tuesdays
July 14th 2009
If the band Summer Cats were to become real-life incarnations of their feline namesakes, they’d bat balls of yarn or swat at butterflies. Back alley strays they are not. This Australian quintet plays pop music of the bright and shiny variety, fitting in nicely on the newly resurrected Slumberland label The warm glow of golden-age indie rock is all over Songs for Tuesdays.
It’s easy to hear any number of noisy pop outfits in the band’s familiar sound – from the Go-Betweens and the Wedding Present to Velocity Girl and Unrest. Tracks such as “Super,” “Fulton Gurls,” and “Christopher Wren” display a strong knowledge of vintage 1960s and ‘70s pop hooks, and the bouncy, sun-kissed melodies feel almost too perfect.
That last part is both the appeal and the problem on Songs for Tuesdays. The songs often sound as if they were generated with a secret logarithm created by Carl Newman and passed down furtively from Vancouver to Melbourne. “Lonely Planet” is practically a New Pornographer’s cover, replete with driving keyboards and a soaring multi-harmony chorus.
None of this is to say that Summer Cats should go the way of so many current bands and obscure their obvious strengths with lo-fi crud. It’s just that there’s a distinct lack of unpredictability here. It’s not born from redundancy, but rather what feels like the noble goal of precision.
Songs for Tuesdays is a fine, fun record that will no doubt appeal to the “pop kids” who get a shout out it in the album credits, in addition to tickling the nostalgia fancy of anyone who came of age on Teenbeat, Simple Machines, and the original incarnation of Slumberland. Yet for playing such bubbly feel-good music, you kind of want the Summer Cats to lighten up a little.
By Nate Knaebel
It’s easy to hear any number of noisy pop outfits in the band’s familiar sound – from the Go-Betweens and the Wedding Present to Velocity Girl and Unrest. Tracks such as “Super,” “Fulton Gurls,” and “Christopher Wren” display a strong knowledge of vintage 1960s and ‘70s pop hooks, and the bouncy, sun-kissed melodies feel almost too perfect.
That last part is both the appeal and the problem on Songs for Tuesdays. The songs often sound as if they were generated with a secret logarithm created by Carl Newman and passed down furtively from Vancouver to Melbourne. “Lonely Planet” is practically a New Pornographer’s cover, replete with driving keyboards and a soaring multi-harmony chorus.
None of this is to say that Summer Cats should go the way of so many current bands and obscure their obvious strengths with lo-fi crud. It’s just that there’s a distinct lack of unpredictability here. It’s not born from redundancy, but rather what feels like the noble goal of precision.
Songs for Tuesdays is a fine, fun record that will no doubt appeal to the “pop kids” who get a shout out it in the album credits, in addition to tickling the nostalgia fancy of anyone who came of age on Teenbeat, Simple Machines, and the original incarnation of Slumberland. Yet for playing such bubbly feel-good music, you kind of want the Summer Cats to lighten up a little.
By Nate Knaebel
Under the Radar
woo, for the ladies.. same page as Jarvis!
"Hey You" mp3
Jun 18, 2009
Slumberland Records sure has the corner market on indie pop. Australia's Summer Cats is their latest signee after likeminded groups such as The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Liechtenstein. "Hey You" is from Cats' debut full-length, Songs for Tuesdays, out July 14th. The C86-cribbing Melbourne quintet add some serious crunch and feedback to their keyboards-guitar onslaught. Think of a less folksy version of The Go-Betweens. The 2:39-minute mark comes quickly as lead vocalist Scott Stevens clicks off the usual warm-weather signifiers: "burning rubber," taking "cute" girls to the movies, and scoring on the first date all blur past appear in the rear-view mirror. Summer Cats make ecstatic jangle-pop made for your next trip to the beach.
undertheradar
"Hey You" mp3
Jun 18, 2009
Slumberland Records sure has the corner market on indie pop. Australia's Summer Cats is their latest signee after likeminded groups such as The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Liechtenstein. "Hey You" is from Cats' debut full-length, Songs for Tuesdays, out July 14th. The C86-cribbing Melbourne quintet add some serious crunch and feedback to their keyboards-guitar onslaught. Think of a less folksy version of The Go-Betweens. The 2:39-minute mark comes quickly as lead vocalist Scott Stevens clicks off the usual warm-weather signifiers: "burning rubber," taking "cute" girls to the movies, and scoring on the first date all blur past appear in the rear-view mirror. Summer Cats make ecstatic jangle-pop made for your next trip to the beach.
undertheradar
newsreview.com
Wed, July 15, Summer CatsBlue Lamp, 9 p.m., $7 (Sacaramento)
By John Phillips
When you think about Australia, what comes to mind? AC/DC? Maybe you picture the Crocodile Hunter or Crocodile Dundee? Summer Cats, a five-piece garage-pop act out of the land of “crikey” and boomerangs, want to bring you a new picture of what the country can offer. Fitting somewhere in between pop-sweeties Stereolab and the Flaming Lips, the band is getting its North America debut via Slumberland Records, a veteran label recently revived to put out Crystal Stilts, the Pains of Being Pure at Heart and, recently, Liechtenstein. The record is 33 minutes of lovable, danceable pop tracks that will melt your American heart. 1400 Alhambra Boulevard.
Tom Haugen's Blog
Summer Cats- Songs For Tuesdays Fri, 10 Jul 2009 Posted at 11:30:00 AM
After several singles and EPs released to critical acclaim, these Australian indie pop darlings are set to release their debut LP on July 14.
Armed with catchy bass lines, distorted keyboards and feedback laden guitars, Summer Cats blend 60's garage pop with modern day influences like Stereolab and the greats of yesteryear Velocity Girl, to produce a unique and addictive blend of jangly indie pop.
Outstanding male/female vocals complement these gems quite nicely, as they rework a couple old songs and add some new soon to be classics as well.
Songs For Tuesdays could very well be the first great release of summer. Sometimes noisy, always melodic, mostly lo-fi, Summer Cats is full of pure indie pop sweetness, managing to probably remind you of all your favorite indie rock greats, but firmly maintain it's own identity as well.
In a somewhat unusual occurence, this is a disc where the artwork matches the music quite perfectly- colorful, vibrant and shimmering with radiance...
Hear it: http://www.myspace.com/summercats
Buy it: http://www.slumberlandrecords.com
Tom Haugen's Blog here
Ventvox
Summer Cats : Songs For Tuesdays :: ReviewJuly 17, 2009
As the summer doldrums kick in and the heat ratchets to 110 degrees in the shade, things can become fairly listless. If you need a musical cure for the hot and humid days ahead give Summer Cat’s album “Songs For Tuesdays” a spin. This Melbourne, Australia quintet play upbeat pop songs in a Stereolab-meets Go Betweens style that demand your attention and deserve to be played loud. While Summer Cats aren’t the type of band that require existential thought to get they should not be slighted either as there’s nothing wrong with simply tearing things up.
Summer Cats cover a lot of ground quickly in the 13 tracks on “Songs For Tuesdays” as the entire disc is 32 minutes long. Summer Cats are consistently great pop songwriters on this album as there is no room for filler. Every track seems to be a corker whether it is spiky, jangly or woozy. Opener “Let’s Go” kicks things off right out of the gate as a distorted guitar lick blends nicely with a wobbly organ and is followed by a manic vocal.
Summer Cats also trade up on the vocals and that makes for an engaging listen as displayed on “Fulton Girls” and the Velocity Girl-ish duet of “In June.” “In June” is a super solid track that also reminds me of vintage R.E.M with its Rickenbacker twang. The Stereolab influence is apparent on “Lonely Planet” and the spinning “ St. Tropez.” When an album is this smart, it’s really hard to pick out other standouts other than listing the entire track listing and going the whole track-by-track route. If this album has a fault, it might be the tight time constraint as you will wish these songs stayed a bit longer. File this one under impressive debuts!
4 1/2 Stars
All Music Blog
Yay, we love !!...
The Summer Cats - Songs for Tuesdays
July 20th, 2009 4:40 pm est Tim Sendra
The Summer Cats aren’t the kind of cats who like to curl up and purr the day away, they’re more apt to chase things, run around wildly, and basically tear stuff up. The Australian quintet states their aim as clearly as possible on the first track of their first album Songs for Tuesdays. “Let’s Go” bursts out of the gate with a supercharged Flying Nun-inspired attack (the Clean especially, but also some early Chills too) built around fuzzy guitars, peppy organ, and shouted vocals. The rest of the album follows in kind with barely a break for breath.
Thirteen songs in 32 minutes doesn’t leave a lot of space for meandering or epic ballads or wasting time with guitar solos; it does leave plenty of space for memorable hooks and for songs that sound like they were created just to be played loudly in the summertime. Any summer mixtape would be improved by the addition of the noisy rocker “Hey You,” the droning Stereolab-y “Lonely Planet,” or the wildly oscillating “St. Tropez.” You could really take any song and plug it into that sentence; the record is that strong and unified. The only complaint you might have with a record as tightly constructed as this could be that the songs all run together. The group heads this off in a couple of ways. While bandleader Scott Stevens takes most of the vocals, he turns a few over to other members of the group, most notably Irene, who provides the innocent female vocals that pair up with Stevens’ slightly manic tones perfectly. Secondly, they vary the sound of each song just a little bit. Some songs are heavy; some are lighter than air. Some have distorted guitars; some have clean and jangly guitars. It’s an admirable attention to detail that does a world of good.
The Summer Cats spent a few years honing their sound on singles and EPs, and it really pays off. Songs for Tuesdays captures the sound of a band playing and writing at the peak of their game, and it’s album anyone with a fondness for spiky, catchy, and super fun indie pop should own.
The Summer Cats - Songs for TuesdaysJuly 20th, 2009 4:40 pm est Tim Sendra
The Summer Cats aren’t the kind of cats who like to curl up and purr the day away, they’re more apt to chase things, run around wildly, and basically tear stuff up. The Australian quintet states their aim as clearly as possible on the first track of their first album Songs for Tuesdays. “Let’s Go” bursts out of the gate with a supercharged Flying Nun-inspired attack (the Clean especially, but also some early Chills too) built around fuzzy guitars, peppy organ, and shouted vocals. The rest of the album follows in kind with barely a break for breath.
Thirteen songs in 32 minutes doesn’t leave a lot of space for meandering or epic ballads or wasting time with guitar solos; it does leave plenty of space for memorable hooks and for songs that sound like they were created just to be played loudly in the summertime. Any summer mixtape would be improved by the addition of the noisy rocker “Hey You,” the droning Stereolab-y “Lonely Planet,” or the wildly oscillating “St. Tropez.” You could really take any song and plug it into that sentence; the record is that strong and unified. The only complaint you might have with a record as tightly constructed as this could be that the songs all run together. The group heads this off in a couple of ways. While bandleader Scott Stevens takes most of the vocals, he turns a few over to other members of the group, most notably Irene, who provides the innocent female vocals that pair up with Stevens’ slightly manic tones perfectly. Secondly, they vary the sound of each song just a little bit. Some songs are heavy; some are lighter than air. Some have distorted guitars; some have clean and jangly guitars. It’s an admirable attention to detail that does a world of good.
The Summer Cats spent a few years honing their sound on singles and EPs, and it really pays off. Songs for Tuesdays captures the sound of a band playing and writing at the peak of their game, and it’s album anyone with a fondness for spiky, catchy, and super fun indie pop should own.
Crawdaddy!
Summer Catsby Michael Miller • July 15, 2009
Summer CatsSongs for Tuesdays(Slumberland, 2009)
I’m not sure what Tuesdays are like in Melbourne, where Summer Cats call home, but in America, that second day of the work week—when the last weekend is already a distant memory and the next one feels like an impossible wish—goes something like this:
Humanity: [Groan] Why me?
Summer Cats’ debut full-length feels more like rainbows, unicorns, sparkles, things like that. They should have called the fucker, you know, Antidote for Tuesdays. But who am I to nitpick?
The first distorted chords of opener “Let’s Go!” are the perfect introduction to the band: Dirty, fast, and simple. A quickly strummed second guitar comes in, followed by a wonderfully retro organ. Add a dash of bright, enthusiastic vocals, and you have the formula for the entire album. It sounds like Nuggets and has the psych-rock album artwork to match. “Let’s Go!” is barely longer than two minutes and is followed by more of the same: Chugging guitars, simplistic drums (think Moe Tucker), and relentlessly tight Beach Boys-esque harmonies (it feels too ironic to call anything produced by Australia “sun-drenched,” what with the hole in the ozone and everything, but that’s the standard rock-crit term for the group’s singing style).
The first distorted chords of opener “Let’s Go!” are the perfect introduction to the band: Dirty, fast, and simple. A quickly strummed second guitar comes in, followed by a wonderfully retro organ. Add a dash of bright, enthusiastic vocals, and you have the formula for the entire album. It sounds like Nuggets and has the psych-rock album artwork to match. “Let’s Go!” is barely longer than two minutes and is followed by more of the same: Chugging guitars, simplistic drums (think Moe Tucker), and relentlessly tight Beach Boys-esque harmonies (it feels too ironic to call anything produced by Australia “sun-drenched,” what with the hole in the ozone and everything, but that’s the standard rock-crit term for the group’s singing style).
Only one song here clocks in at over three minutes. The album races along at a speed that would make the first Ramones’ record sweat. Along the way, there’s all kinds of ’60s influences—early Motown, skuzzy garage rock, some Lennon-McCartney melodies—and though the band thanks labelmates the Pains of Being Pure at Heart in the acknowledgements, there’s very little of the reverb-drenched shoegaze sound being produced by Slumberland Records right now. There’s clarity to the recording: You not only hear, but feel—right in the middle of your skull—each instrument being played. The voices boom with the confidence of people who know they can really sing—no tricks to mask insecurities. How rare is that?
And no, there’s nothing groundbreaking here—no sounds to make you push your eyebrows together, no melodies to make you re-evaluate your definition of pop music. But there are plenty of songs to wake you the hell up. You’d have to be pretty cold to not smile at these Australians’ clever lyrical quips, like this one from “Maybe Pile”: “And your kiss? / Is definitely top of my list / And your love? / Your love, kisses, and such? / I’d like them very much!”
Summer Cats’ idea of slowing things down comes with the back-to-back high school drama of “In June” and “Wild Rice” (each contains the rare presence on Tue
sdays of minor chords). The pangs of lost adolescent love are kept from being too much of a downer by each song’s vicious speed. They add a touch of heartbreak without losing any momentum.
Summer Cats’ idea of slowing things down comes with the back-to-back high school drama of “In June” and “Wild Rice” (each contains the rare presence on Tue
sdays of minor chords). The pangs of lost adolescent love are kept from being too much of a downer by each song’s vicious speed. They add a touch of heartbreak without losing any momentum. And in just over 30 minutes, it’s over. The album ends and it’s like getting the wind punched out of you. It’s done already? Yep, 13 songs in under 32 minutes—each whittled down to nothing but emotion and hooks. This is pop music in its purest form; sometimes just a verse and a chorus with everything dull left out. Play it on a Tuesday and get through the week faster.
The Finest Kiss
More kind words...
Endless Summer Cats
July 7, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Well, it’s Tuesday, time to pull out the new Summer Cats record Songs for Tuesdays and give it a spin. I think that this album may be misnamed, songs for the whole damn week more like. After putting out a handful of eps on Cloudberry, WeePOP! Scratching Post as well as singles on Slumberland (split with POBAH), Cloudberry (again and single of 2008 around these parts) and Knock Yr Socks Off (split with Aux Autres) these Australians are set to release their debut long player next week on that label that I can’t seem to stop mentioning, Slumberland.
A few of the songs from their stellar afore mentioned singles make reappearances here, albeit in rerecorded versions. So Let’s Go and the Lonely Planet jangle a little more than they did on their vinyl versions and Kraut a little less. Former Earthman Scott Stevens sings most of the songs but he takes a back seat on Maybe Pile and Christopher Wren no let down in quality is suffered from the different lead singer, in fact it adds to the album’s charm. There is also the duet In June that could be the standout track on the record, it reminds me of the Hummingbirds or the Go-Betweens, great Australian company to be in. The band are making a short trip over to the West Coast of the US to celebrate the album’s release. A rare treat, in fact their first ever trip over here to play. Catch them if you can, so you don’t regret it!
Sat July 11 @ Mai’s Cafe, VENTURA CA w/ Sea LionsSun July 12 @ Part Time Punks at The Echo, LOS ANGELES, CA w/ The TartansMon July 13 @ The Knockout’s All Fall Down night, SAN FRANCISCO, CA w/ The Tartans, Magic BulletsWed July 15 @ The Blue Lamp, SACRAMENTO, CA w/ The Tartans, Baby Grand, English SinglesThu July 16 @ The Backspace, PORTLAND, OR w/The Tartans, Soft PawFri July 17 @ New Crompton house, SEATTLE, WA w/The Tartans
Endless Summer Cats
July 7, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Well, it’s Tuesday, time to pull out the new Summer Cats record Songs for Tuesdays and give it a spin. I think that this album may be misnamed, songs for the whole damn week more like. After putting out a handful of eps on Cloudberry, WeePOP! Scratching Post as well as singles on Slumberland (split with POBAH), Cloudberry (again and single of 2008 around these parts) and Knock Yr Socks Off (split with Aux Autres) these Australians are set to release their debut long player next week on that label that I can’t seem to stop mentioning, Slumberland.
A few of the songs from their stellar afore mentioned singles make reappearances here, albeit in rerecorded versions. So Let’s Go and the Lonely Planet jangle a little more than they did on their vinyl versions and Kraut a little less. Former Earthman Scott Stevens sings most of the songs but he takes a back seat on Maybe Pile and Christopher Wren no let down in quality is suffered from the different lead singer, in fact it adds to the album’s charm. There is also the duet In June that could be the standout track on the record, it reminds me of the Hummingbirds or the Go-Betweens, great Australian company to be in. The band are making a short trip over to the West Coast of the US to celebrate the album’s release. A rare treat, in fact their first ever trip over here to play. Catch them if you can, so you don’t regret it!
Sat July 11 @ Mai’s Cafe, VENTURA CA w/ Sea LionsSun July 12 @ Part Time Punks at The Echo, LOS ANGELES, CA w/ The TartansMon July 13 @ The Knockout’s All Fall Down night, SAN FRANCISCO, CA w/ The Tartans, Magic BulletsWed July 15 @ The Blue Lamp, SACRAMENTO, CA w/ The Tartans, Baby Grand, English SinglesThu July 16 @ The Backspace, PORTLAND, OR w/The Tartans, Soft PawFri July 17 @ New Crompton house, SEATTLE, WA w/The Tartans
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Eardrums
Eardrums: Songs for Tuesdays Album Review
July 7th 2009
It’s Tuesday, so let’s play some “Songs for Tuesdays”!
Melbourne five-piece Summer Cats have been an Eardrums favourite for a long time. This is pure, catchy indie pop, – jangly, sometimes noisy and always full of charm, humor and great melodies. I’ve enjoyed their mini-album “Scratching post”, their weepop!-micro cd “Passion Pop”, their Slumberland split-single in the series “Searching for the now” (together with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart), their cloudberry-7″ of “Lonely Planet” and their addition to our own “Summer’s here!” compilation, “Bedwetter”. Wonderful releases, all of them.So, was I excited when I got Summer Cats’ debut album “Songs for Tuesdays”? You bet!
Melbourne five-piece Summer Cats have been an Eardrums favourite for a long time. This is pure, catchy indie pop, – jangly, sometimes noisy and always full of charm, humor and great melodies. I’ve enjoyed their mini-album “Scratching post”, their weepop!-micro cd “Passion Pop”, their Slumberland split-single in the series “Searching for the now” (together with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart), their cloudberry-7″ of “Lonely Planet” and their addition to our own “Summer’s here!” compilation, “Bedwetter”. Wonderful releases, all of them.So, was I excited when I got Summer Cats’ debut album “Songs for Tuesdays”? You bet!
After listening to “Songs for Tuesdays” I guess I can sum it up and say that everything the band has done so far have sounded like demos compared to this. The band sound ready. The sound is brilliant and the songs are very good. It actually took me some listens to get fully into this one, – mainly because I have found the band’s not-always-on-the-beat jangle-sound very charming, and this time they ARE on the beat every time, – and the wooly demo-sound is completely gone. After many listens, I must say that no matter how much I have loved the band’s earlier releases, I like this even more.Don’t get me wrong, – it doesn’t sound “polished” and “clean”, – it’s still jangly and they still sound like Summer Cats, – but the sound is so much better, if you know what I mean.
“Songs for Tuesdays” includes new versions of several songs from their previous singles/eps and several new ones as well. Some nice details have been added to classic Summer Cats songs. The ultra catchy “Wild Rice” from their Scratching post is slowed down and a fresh harmonica solo has been added. “Christopher Wren” has got a crispy and warm new sound that is so so so wonderful to listen to. “Lonely Planet” sounds almost the same, but has more punch in the album version. “Let’s Go” from their Slumberland single is also here.
There are some real gems among the newer songs too. “Fulton Girls” is fantastic, and the catchy pop duet “In June” is even better.And… Please look at the cover-art, – isn’t it wonderful? Just as colourful and detailed as the music on this album is.
The debut from Summer Cats is out on July 14 on Slumberland Records (there will also be a coloured vinyl edition out on July 28, du to pressing issues).
Highly recommended!
by Knut
WLUR FM
Monday July 6th 2009
Blissful, C86-style pop from this Australian indie band, which makes its North American debut on the record company they were made for, Slumberland. In addition to labelmates like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Liechtenstein and Crystal Stilts, Summer Cats are also drawing comparisons to Brisbane legends The Go-Betweens and Canadian pop masters The New Pornographers. The record is solid throughout, but Songs for Tuesday really hits its stride in the middle with the boy-girl duo on "In June," spinning through album highlights "Wild Rice" and "Waking Up." Much like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the Summer Cats' LP is both undeniably catchy and extremely well-done.
Alex Loves you and your silly pop songs
Alex loves you and your silly Pop Songs (blogspot) Sunday July 3, 2009
"Since moving to Melbourne, I've felt so fortunate at being able to see Summer Cats play quite regularly. But now, with the release of their debut album, Songs For Tuesdays, I feel even luckier, because I know how jealous the rest of the world will be after hearing these 13 brilliant pop songs! Released via Slumberland on July 14, Songs For Tuesdays looks set to dominate the speakers of summer dancefloors in the north, winter bedrooms in the south and best of 2009 lists worldwide.
I'm so enamoured by every track on the album - from blistering opener "Let's Go", sharing stories about various places to visit around Melbourne and beyond, through to the boy-girl duet "In June", which reminds me so much of The Hummingbirds with its amazing jangling guitars. A slowed-down version of 'Wild Rice' appears (after first appearing on 2007's Scratching Post EP), as does last year's Cloudberry single, 'Lonely Planet'. Scott Stevens surely ranks as one of the best vocalists in indiepop at present, and with squalling guitars and motorik keys to boot, it all sums to a perfectly formed collection of some of the finest pop going round.
And lest I forget the artwork - the artwork! With all those flowers and birds and felt tip colours, I want it to be summer already. It's the perfect embodiment of that summer feeling that Summer Cats capture so well in their sound.
Cute blog! - Read more from Alex here
Citizen Dick
aw.
Citizen Dick: Songs for Tuesdays- Album Review
July 2nd 2009
Take a gander at that album cover (click on it if you want the experience writ large): primary-hued crayola markers, cut-outs of birds from nature magazines, flowers and hearts, in short a veritable explosion of riotous technicolor happy times, devoid of pretension or angst, essentially screaming that the world is a place full of sunshine and puppy dogs. It’s a nice visual accompaniment to the debut full-length from Australian quintet Summer Cats. (When this one popped into our inbox, I was hoping that the name was a Wilco-esque play on words, as in “Summer cats, some are dogs,” but this does not appear to be the case. I think it’s reference to, you know, cats in summer.)
While the cover offers the graphic embodiment of the band’s modus operandi, a lyric from the bouncy, jangly beach-pop track “St. Tropez,” offers the linguistic equivalent: “I could be anywhere, anywhere but here…I could be holding your hand all night as we go dancing in LA/Walking into a bar and order you a tonic and Tangueray/hanging out with Rico, while making out with Nico.” Take those two things together, an explosion of bright colors and an endless summer-esque wanderlust and you’ve got Songs for Tuesdays in a nutshell. These are songs for rolled-down windows and tube tops, infused with a hooky pop-sensibility, an ear for sing-along-ability and, overall, a refreshing joie de vivre. (Is it douchey to use French phrases in reviews? I can never remember.)
The opening track, “Let’s Go,” sets the tone for much of the record, with an anthemic plea to go someplace on a jet plane accompanied by by background “na-na-na-na”s, a sneaky, oily, nostalgic keyboard line, big broad stroke guitars and bouncy percussion, complete with a periodic tambourine sound. The next twelve tracks proceed in much the same vein, tapping a sunny California 60s vibe while providing a fine enough layer of grit and crunch to satisfy the modern ear. There are also familiar tropes that are given a new twist, always a nice trick. The track “Fulton Girls” obviously owes a debt to “California Girls,” but is absolutely hilarious (far more so than the latter). “Fell in love with a Fulton girl/it’s not hard to do/they’re a lot taller and better looking than you” repeated a few times over a killer guitar riff and keyboard line left me both holding my sides and tapping my feet. It pokes fun at the notion of geographically-motivated desire, while maintaining its catchiness. (I’m pretty sure that David Lee Roth tried to make the same joke that Summer Cats are making here, but I could be wrong.) “Maybe Pile,” easily my favorite tune on the record, recalls, briefly and tangentially, British mope rock, but while pumping it full of mood-altering drugs. The decidedly downbeat delivery of the chorus, “If you’re not ready to see another guy, but your heart might mend in awhile, put me on the maybe pile” is immediately ameliorated by a sparkling, multiple part harmonic counterpoint. Imagine “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” crossed with the chorus from “Everyday I Write the Book” and you’re in the ballpark, maybe.
These tunes are all little explosions of gleeful sound, pumping through the speakers with little delay and then shuffling off the stage. There’s only a single track here that clocks in at more than three minutes and all of the tunes have a hummingbird-like immediacy, blasting the relevant ideas into your ears and then moving on. I’m not imagining that in their previous work (a few 7″ singles and some EPs) there’s a twelve-minute suite lurking. While we’ve spent a ton of time on the lyrical content (frequently clever, consistently entertaining), the instrumental sound that the band crafts is captivating. These two and a half minute nuggets of poppy goodness are a delight to behold.
This one is going to be worth snagging purely for the brilliance that is “St. Tropez.” (I’m on record as not being able to listen to tunes while I write, but I’ve stood up from the computer several times during the drafting of this review to listen to that one again. I gave you a snippet of lyrics above. The rest are just as delightful and it’s the kind of tune that you’re glad is stuck in your head. If you don’t listen to this track on the 14th when this album hits the shelves, I’m going to be pissed.) Past that track, this album is packed with tunes that are perfect for the warmer months. In fact, it’s been a decidedly un-summerlike week in Cleveland, with overcast skies and periods of intense rain. (In other news, I got a wart removed, so it’s been a gloomy week both in terms of the climate and my own interaction with the world.) The sounds of Songs for Tuesdays have made it feel like the sun is shining throughout. Good times.
Citizen Dick: Songs for Tuesdays- Album Review
July 2nd 2009
Take a gander at that album cover (click on it if you want the experience writ large): primary-hued crayola markers, cut-outs of birds from nature magazines, flowers and hearts, in short a veritable explosion of riotous technicolor happy times, devoid of pretension or angst, essentially screaming that the world is a place full of sunshine and puppy dogs. It’s a nice visual accompaniment to the debut full-length from Australian quintet Summer Cats. (When this one popped into our inbox, I was hoping that the name was a Wilco-esque play on words, as in “Summer cats, some are dogs,” but this does not appear to be the case. I think it’s reference to, you know, cats in summer.)
While the cover offers the graphic embodiment of the band’s modus operandi, a lyric from the bouncy, jangly beach-pop track “St. Tropez,” offers the linguistic equivalent: “I could be anywhere, anywhere but here…I could be holding your hand all night as we go dancing in LA/Walking into a bar and order you a tonic and Tangueray/hanging out with Rico, while making out with Nico.” Take those two things together, an explosion of bright colors and an endless summer-esque wanderlust and you’ve got Songs for Tuesdays in a nutshell. These are songs for rolled-down windows and tube tops, infused with a hooky pop-sensibility, an ear for sing-along-ability and, overall, a refreshing joie de vivre. (Is it douchey to use French phrases in reviews? I can never remember.)
The opening track, “Let’s Go,” sets the tone for much of the record, with an anthemic plea to go someplace on a jet plane accompanied by by background “na-na-na-na”s, a sneaky, oily, nostalgic keyboard line, big broad stroke guitars and bouncy percussion, complete with a periodic tambourine sound. The next twelve tracks proceed in much the same vein, tapping a sunny California 60s vibe while providing a fine enough layer of grit and crunch to satisfy the modern ear. There are also familiar tropes that are given a new twist, always a nice trick. The track “Fulton Girls” obviously owes a debt to “California Girls,” but is absolutely hilarious (far more so than the latter). “Fell in love with a Fulton girl/it’s not hard to do/they’re a lot taller and better looking than you” repeated a few times over a killer guitar riff and keyboard line left me both holding my sides and tapping my feet. It pokes fun at the notion of geographically-motivated desire, while maintaining its catchiness. (I’m pretty sure that David Lee Roth tried to make the same joke that Summer Cats are making here, but I could be wrong.) “Maybe Pile,” easily my favorite tune on the record, recalls, briefly and tangentially, British mope rock, but while pumping it full of mood-altering drugs. The decidedly downbeat delivery of the chorus, “If you’re not ready to see another guy, but your heart might mend in awhile, put me on the maybe pile” is immediately ameliorated by a sparkling, multiple part harmonic counterpoint. Imagine “Jumping Someone Else’s Train” crossed with the chorus from “Everyday I Write the Book” and you’re in the ballpark, maybe.
These tunes are all little explosions of gleeful sound, pumping through the speakers with little delay and then shuffling off the stage. There’s only a single track here that clocks in at more than three minutes and all of the tunes have a hummingbird-like immediacy, blasting the relevant ideas into your ears and then moving on. I’m not imagining that in their previous work (a few 7″ singles and some EPs) there’s a twelve-minute suite lurking. While we’ve spent a ton of time on the lyrical content (frequently clever, consistently entertaining), the instrumental sound that the band crafts is captivating. These two and a half minute nuggets of poppy goodness are a delight to behold.
This one is going to be worth snagging purely for the brilliance that is “St. Tropez.” (I’m on record as not being able to listen to tunes while I write, but I’ve stood up from the computer several times during the drafting of this review to listen to that one again. I gave you a snippet of lyrics above. The rest are just as delightful and it’s the kind of tune that you’re glad is stuck in your head. If you don’t listen to this track on the 14th when this album hits the shelves, I’m going to be pissed.) Past that track, this album is packed with tunes that are perfect for the warmer months. In fact, it’s been a decidedly un-summerlike week in Cleveland, with overcast skies and periods of intense rain. (In other news, I got a wart removed, so it’s been a gloomy week both in terms of the climate and my own interaction with the world.) The sounds of Songs for Tuesdays have made it feel like the sun is shining throughout. Good times.
By Brian (Cleveland Ohio)
One Track Mind- Hey You
Summer Cats “Hey You”Thursday July 2nd, 2009
In a couple of weeks, Australia’s Summer Cats will be releasing their debut full-length, Songs for Tuesdays, on Slumberland Records. “Hey You” is our first peek at the record–a driving indie-pop tune anchored by some seriously distorted guitars and Scott Stevens’ no-nonsense vocals. The strategy employed by Summer Cats is similarly frill-free: the song structure doesn’t try to offer up any surprises, the instrumentation is that of your traditional rock band, and even the track length scrapes by at just over two and a half minutes.
That said, just as originality alone isn’t enough to elevate a song into grandeur, neither does its deficiency preclude it from being catchy. Indeed, catchiness is Summer Cats’ M.O., and “Hey You” is a shining example of that instantly gratifying type of music: the summer song. “Hey You” is infectious at the most basic, nervous system level, designed to induce unconscious fits of head bobbing. Beyond the more obvious indie-pop touchstones it invokes, it also claims the sloppy college radio sound of the early ’90s in its lineage; fans of pre-Navy Blues era Sloan should likewise dig it.
“Hey You” may not be enough to write home about, but as the summer months continue to heat up, you’ll be glad to have Summer Cats on your iPod.
Rate It Here: (7 votes, average: 7.86 out of 10)
You'll find the full article here
Lido Music: Spanish Review
how lovely!...Lito Music: Summer Cats
July 26, 2009
"Summer Cats met a while ago, to appear in the catalog of the label Cloudberry Records on one of its first reference, now completely out of print. I must admit that at that time I drew attention in particular, their songs failed to arouse any interest in me and ended up going totally unnoticed. However, news of the imminent publication of his debut album on the label Slumberland Records has led me to focus on his music with a little more detail and concluded that this is a very diverse group to consider with a proposal that more interesting.
"Summer Cats met a while ago, to appear in the catalog of the label Cloudberry Records on one of its first reference, now completely out of print. I must admit that at that time I drew attention in particular, their songs failed to arouse any interest in me and ended up going totally unnoticed. However, news of the imminent publication of his debut album on the label Slumberland Records has led me to focus on his music with a little more detail and concluded that this is a very diverse group to consider with a proposal that more interesting.
On July 14 Sales of "Songs for Tuesdays", an album comprised of 13 fresh and direct songs that hook easily, you just have to start listening to the first of his songs, "Let's Go" to feel trapped by their vibrant sound, a sound that drinking influences of the most varied, from Stereolab to the Go-Betweens, via Velocity Girl (do not let listen to the wonderful "In June" which reminds the group that lead emblematic Sarah Shannon).
But if there is anything that defines this album is solid, it is a disc that has no waste, full of amazing songs that manage to hold the attention from beginning to end, without doubt, one of the best albums of the year. I leave you now with one of the items included in the "Songs for Tuesdays," which you can hear in full from the official website of the label."
You will find the above is a Spanish blog, so we've done our best to translate it using internet technologies!
Skatterbrain 1/7
New Summer Cats: "Hey You, It's Me (Oh My)"
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
'Songs For Tuesdays' blinding cover artwork.Summer Cats' debut LP, Songs For Tuesdays, will finally be out on Slumberland Records come July 14th! – just two weeks away! Before hearing even a note of the record I'd decided it would probably be one of my favorite records of the year, and now, since hearing the new song "Hey You, It's Me (Oh My)" I'm almost sure of it! Not only will it be full of fantastic fuzzy pop songs, but it's sporting some of the most brilliantly colorful cover art I've ever laid eyes on. Sure wouldn't expect a song like this to lie inside that cover would you?! We can play tennis til the sun goes down. "Hey You, It's Me (Oh My)" is just another perfect summer pop song from a band with a million of them.
- Matthew Edwards (Towsen, Maryland) SKATTERBRAIN
You can read the Skatterbrain article here
:) :)
Mess and Noise- Sign to Slumberland!
Local Music News:Summer Cats Sign To Slumberland
Friday, June 19 2009 at 02:00 AM.
Melbourne’s Summer Cats will release their debut LP through US label Slumberland. Titled Songs for Tuesdays, the album is scheduled to hit the shelves on July 14. It follows a run of 7” singles, a couple 3” CD-Rs and their Scratching Post EP.
To celebrate, the five-piece – who write upbeat pop songs in a “Stereolab-meets-Go-Betweens style” – are heading for the states for a run of west-coast shows. The band will perform two shows in Los Angeles, as well as dates in San Francisco and Sacramento in July.
Featuring former Earthmen lead singer Scott Stevens, Summer Cats made their live debut at Melbourne’s The Tote in 2006. Their new labelmates include Bricolage and The Pains of Being Pure At Heart.
SUMMER CATS US TOUR
Saturday, July 11Mai's Café, Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, July 12The Echo/Part Time Punks, Los Angeles, CA
Monday, July 13Knock Out, San Francisco, CA
Wednesday, July 15Blue Lamp, Sacramento, CA
Messandnoise.com can be read here
Up and blogging ..
Hi there! We're Summer Cats from Melbourne, Australia. We're excited to have a brand new blog to post all our news, reviews, gigs, pics and vids... and ramblings, of course!
In the meantime we've just released our debut album on the 14th July in the States, called Songs for Tuesdays, and have recently returned from our very first international tour.
You can find out more and hear us on our myspace page!
In the meantime we've just released our debut album on the 14th July in the States, called Songs for Tuesdays, and have recently returned from our very first international tour.
You can find out more and hear us on our myspace page!
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