Sol Cat's Self-Titled Debut Rocks Right

Words by Evil Vince

My latest favorite is a Nashville, Tennessee band named Sol Cat. This band plays a brilliant brand of psychedelic-whiskey-soul-groove-rock. Their self-titled album contains nine (9) dive bar, classic garage, green pasture, outer space, arena rock tracks. There's a thread that carries throughout the album, but the real inspiration is the precision the band carries in it's diversity. Sol Cat's instrumentation and arrangements keep your ears captivated and your head bobbing. This is the real. The band is young, but one can feel their future growth as the record begins with "Triumphant Return". The track evokes brilliant aural feelings. The album promises to be good. The second song, "Fishin' With John", is a pure hungover groove that evokes a backyard party. These dudes know how to hang out, and enjoy the gathering - and you can feel it in this song. The third track, "Earth Queen", gives the listener a feeling this band could appear on a festival stage, and captivate a large audience enthusiastically. The songwriting is mature and every track is listener friendly. "Sea Of Light", exemplifies the element of soul music, but still holds true to Sol Cat's rock sound. This is a very solid groove, and could easily be a Donny Hathaway cover (at least until the chorus). Side Two begins with "Dirty Glasses", a song I would deem the band's anthem. The song is pure Sol Cat, and best epitomizes the band in its current state, a southern garage version of The Cure. "Let It Slide" illustrates even more of their influences. This track has a slowed shoegaze vibration, and a British Energy, with Oasis-like proportions, very different song from the previous, but still Sol Cat's world.