Cat’s Eyes: the Better Side of 60s Influenced Indie Pop

Cat’s Eyes is made up of Faris Adwan, frontman to The Horrors, and Canadian opera singer Rachel Zeffira.  Before you judge that as being too weird a combination to possibly work let me add one thing: the music ranges from borderline hymns to frenetic 60s girl-pop.  Okay, now you can judge.  Actually, before you do, let me add one more thing: as crazy as it sounds, Cat’s Eyes totally works.

The duo recently released a full length album, Cat’s Eyes, as follow-up to their successful EP, Broken Glass.  You can find an album sampler on Youtube.  I highly advise taking a look.  The band wears its 60s influences on its proverbial sleeve, but that’s not nearly as annoying as I originally thought it would be.  Actually, it’s kind of refreshing.  Maybe 60s-influenced indie pop is nothing new, but it is done well here.  To put it colloquially, Adwan and Zeffira know their shit.  They’ve done more than recreate a dead style; the music is absolutely their own.  In the end, that’s really the most you can ask for from an artist.  The fact that they’re both very talented certainly helps, of course.

There’s a music video for the album’s last song, the sombre, choir-supported hymn ‘I Knew It Was Over.’  You’ll notice in the title that it’s “performed live at the Vatican.”  While this is almost certainly not true, it’s still an interesting concept, and the video is kinda beautiful.

-James Melville