Her name is Furio and she scratches at the sand….
Last year, Cat Temper delivered the cat-rock opera Cat Out of Hell which was truly purradise by the dashboard light. Turning hiss sights (I can’t help these cat jokes) on the Meow Romantics, Furio offers a modern interpretation of the golden age of synthesizers that unfolds like the soundtrack to Grand Theft Feline: Vice City. The instrumental album paints each song with pastel synths and frames them in pleasantly-jarring electronic drum pads. Much like the decade the inspired this project, it is undeniably fun and the Nagel-inspired artwork makes this a must-have physical purchase.
For fans of Duran Duran and cats, the album’s artwork and song titles (personal favorite: Last Cats on the Stairway) offer more than a few snickers but the album is far from a tribute to the Fab Five. In fact, the synth-wave music of Furio might be closer to Howard Jones in it’s architecture (Purrs Into Action?). The songs strut by with glimpses of early Depeche Mode (The Seventh Stray) and, in particular, Kraftwerk which keeps the instrumental album from losing momentum. However, Cat Temper layers the synths in such a way that the atmospheric style of Nick Rhodes always seems to be hanging in the air so the Duran Duran motif certainly feels appropriate.
As on previous releases, the music of Cat Temper outlasts the novelty of the artwork and song titles. Growls On Film is a track I’ll come back to often. It unfolds like a lost Night Version that Nick Rhodes cooked up alone in the studio while the rest of the band was on a flight to Sri Lanka to film a few videos. In a wider context, Furio works much like Harold Faltermeyer’s synth-pop film scores where no words are needed to convey a mood. The cinematic style of Cat Temper’s music has never been more evident on an album and Furio will leave you purring for more.
Order your copy of Furio (vinyl and cassette!) on BandCamp starting March 3rd.
