Black Cat Music's 2001 Lookout debut, Hands in the Estuary, Torso in the Lake, wasn't really ahead of its time -- it sounded like too many things to be too much of that. But it was ahead of the nervy curve cresting in 2004, when types like Ex Models and Von Bondies are successfully putting the... [+] Expand

Black Cat Music's 2001 Lookout debut, Hands in the Estuary, Torso in the Lake, wasn't really ahead of its time -- it sounded like too many things to be too much of that. But it was ahead of the nervy curve cresting in 2004, when types like Ex Models and Von Bondies are successfully putting the arch rhythms of '70s post-punk and the fashionable mess that came after it to work once again. That means Black Cat Music has a built-in back story for its sophomore effort, October, November, and its addicting wet chrome gleam. The record? It's a power stroke of slutty charm. Vocalist Brady (come on, enough with the first names already!) sings in a warbling, vaguely in key monotone from a place behind his tongue; he could sound like Britt Daniel (and does on "Kiss Until Kissed"), but it's usually just that generalized cool frontman detachment that comes to mind. His lyricisms are disjointed, too, but they make a kind of sense, like when you discover in the dank booth of an after-hours diner that you're actually fluent in Dutch. Rank guitars cut and rattle through opener "The Bridal Veil" and "Suicide Party," coalescing into satisfying melodies with seemingly very little effort. "Hearts of Chrome" might be the bomb track here. Driven by an absolutely enormous blues riff rumble, the song brings post-punk artiness in through a side door, suggesting what might happen if the Immortal Lee County Killers moved to the hip part of the city. "Jet Trash" does kick off a mid-album flirtation with Strokes-like dynamics, complete with a vocal filter and double-tracked guitars; "Thirteen Foot Waves" continues it. But the dourness and relative misdirection of those tracks (relative, since "Trash" also briefly flirts with one of October, November's most gorgeous chorus melodies) are forgiven in full by the rejiggered new wave black triangle strut of "Suicide Party" and "French Exit"'s manic '70s rock buzz. Dig the full-on electric guitar solo; match it with the bluesy punk ghosts lingering in Black Cat Music's margins -- and the "Superfly" bassline of "In the Lights" -- to hear a band that would rather entertain than make arty statements catered to backwards-speak elitists. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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