Cats In Space turn on the time machine and visit a classic era in their inimitable style.
Release Date: 26th October 2024
Label: Esoteric Records
Format: CD / digital / LP
Time Machine is the sixth album from the Cats In Space – another affirmation of their Classic Rock sound and perfect fare for anyone who yearns for the classic sounds of Queen, ELO, Supertramp, Cheap Trick and beyond. Did we mention The Who..?
“The machine can take you anywhere,” they declare within moments of opening its doors with a ‘Daaah Dah-Daah’ – the familiar sounding opening chords of the title track. We’ll leave you to guess at where you may have heard something of the sort in the past; a game which soon becomes part of the fun and an indication of what to expect over the course of the next fifteen songs that celebrate a what we might term ‘a certain era’.
Big crashing chords, chugging rhythms and more melodies than you can shake a stick at come thick and fast. The expansive balladeering and angst of Crashing Down, This Velvet Rush, When Love Collides and Forever And Ever providing regular bouts of tempo slowing through the brassy stabs (I do get a lot of Townsend-esque moments on Time Machine – in this case 5:15) and Jumping Jack Flash power chording (and I’m sure the Cats weren’t born in a crossfire hurricane) in Occam’s Razor. The feeling that the search for an alternative to the incoming over usage of ‘-esque’ is going to prove challenging.
Ivory Anthem is a fun short piano piece that dodges around MeatLoaf and Elton territory that serves as an intro to the Purple-esque Run For Your Life. All dramatic gestures, slashing power chords and a rumbling (occasionally galloping even) tempo in the search for “a champion to lead us to the fight.” And if you’re looking for the Supertramp within, check out Yesterday’s Sensation. The electric piano is pure Rick Davies and even lyrically the match is spot on particularly in the chorus. Maybe a bit rockier but a very close cousin.
Some might argue that there’s an element of tribute, but the songs are original enough to carry the more obvious influences. Reversing roles, This Velvet Rush would be right at home crooned by Richard Hawley or Tony Christie in a TV there. No Regrets on the other hand, yes, the Walker Brothers hit, and John Miles Music are added as bonus cuts. The latter, a six minute Pop symphony can’t be bettered so the Cats simply pay tribute.
It’s a formula that works, one that pays dividends and clearly has an audience who are keen to lap up what the Cats have to offer in bucketloads. You don’t need no time machine; just Cats In Space
Here’s the title track:
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