A new band in the Manchester punk scene is a duo called “The Sewer Cats“, I could write a little intro for the band but their bio is so good that I’ll just share that with you instead …
“The Sewer Cats are a fuzzy punk duo full of furry fury. Their sharp and snappy songs have been described as both ‘catchy and scathing’ mixing intense garage punk guitar lines with a fiery, aggressive vocal. Expect a loud, energetic and visceral performance with tunes about cats and smashing the patriarchy! FFO The Stooges, Minutemen, Bikini Kill and Dead Kennedy’s.”
The Sewer Cats had a few great shows booked this year like the Manchester Punk Festival and Strummercamp Festival, it’s rather sad these shows weren’t able to go ahead but the band did a live stream set for Manchester Punk Festival which was rad.
At the moment the band’s discography consists of a 3 track demo and a 7 track debut EP titled “Zelda“. Today I’m writing about “Zelda” which was released on the 3rd of April 2020. It was recorded and mixed by Tom Burgess at Black Flag Studio, mastered by Andy Dazzler at Through the Roof Recording Studio Manchester and the artwork is by John Lilly.
The opening track “Fool” (2:13) is full of fuzz guitar and shouty riot grrl vocals with an amazing breakdown, its got a punky feel to it yet the guitar reminds me of a 90’s grunge band called Mudhoney. This track is a solid example of what to expect from the rest of the EP.
The second track “Rich Cheaters” (1:46) has some great energy with the fuzzy distorted guitar offering up a slab of power chords in a familiar punk progression. It feels almost thrashy in the chorus parts as the vocal hook “you make me sick” is shouted with sass.
Track 3 “Greta” (2:15) has a drum intro, the guitar enters as feedback before playing something that consists of power chords and a lick with a groove feel but changes to something that reminds me of Primus before the chorus. Lyrically this song has a great feministic catch cry in the chorus “don’t underestimate the power of a girl”
The next two songs, “Laurie” (2:02) and “Raw” (1:40) have a great garage punk sound with good energy. The leady guitar parts in “Raw” are great. Track 6 “Create & Rebel” (2:52) offers up more creativity in the soundscape, its clean guitar start is short-lived but really adds a punch as it moves back to the distorted sound. The tempo change near the end of this song is almost bouncy. The final track “Cat Gifs” (0:44) is short, fast, and loud.
Facebook Link https://www.facebook.com/thesewercatsband/
Bandcamp Link http://sewercatsuk.bandcamp.com/album/zelda
In summary, the “Zelda” EP shows the band’s potential to deliver diverse and interesting soundscapes, the lyrics are quality content and the sass is on point, its awesome.
The Sewer Cats are playing another live stream event this weekend, they are part of an international lineup put together by Jones In The Fast Lane Promotions. https://facebook.com/events/s/global-bandemic/1099173977148472/?ti=cl
