New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Alpha Cat's new "Thatched Roof Glass House" (Aquamarine Records) CD arrived the other day and I read the EPK and popped the CD. I listened and then I listened again. Then I listened and I listened again. This process went on for a while and I realized a few things. It was not going to be easy to write a review of this CD.
It is a good record, don't get me wrong. There is some good playing and there are some good songs, but overall the record made me feel vaguely unsatisfied and uneasy. This bugs me a bit because music, in general, is like a stream that will always flow in one direction. You can tell where it is going. In the case of Alpha Cat, it is not always readily apparent. The one clear thing I can say is that it is not the bang-up feel good CD of the year. That is not always a bad thing.
The ideas and questions and laments seem to pop up with every twist in the road in these songs, which are sung alternately with a vocal detachment and/or total involvement to the point where the heart comes out of the singer's mouth. I almost got a severe case of emotional whiplash, from the pure pop enjoyment of "Mona Lisa In A Comic Book" to the consideration of a warm bath and razor blades of "
Black Hole". Here's a sample of the lyrics:
I've fallen into a black hole,
looked like your heart,
felt like my soul.
Now I've got nowhere to go,
from this side out looks like the end of the world.
Luckily for the casual listener there are a few songs with far less extremes to be dealt with. The title track, "Thatched Roof Glass House" is a good example:
Can't say I need more possessions,
but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want more of you.
Don't have to give up our freedom,
but I think it's all becoming clear,
'cause when I say I'll be right back
you say I'll be right here.
If I'm a sailor you're an anchor, baby,
I show you how to float the waves,
you show me how to stay in one place.
Knockdown that thatched roof glass house,
build a domicile that's quake-proof,
to free us from this prison
takes a stone thrown through our window walls.
It stays in pretty positive territory and is an engaging love song, though from a tough NYC mentality, that wants ironclad reassurance. Which every New Yorker thinks is a right in life. It is a challenge this CD, but at the end of the day...who doesn't like a good challenge?
