The Walkmen--Pussy Cats

I believe, perhaps wrongly, that to love The Walkmen you have to love Bob Dylan. Not love his music per say, but at least not wince at his voice. Walkmen vocalist Walter Martin sounds more like Dylan than Bob does, and if you cringe at "Maggie’s Farm" you’ll never like "Louisana." I am one of these people, and I do hate it. I COULD love The Walkmen, but I can’t stand Dylan. This is why Pussy Cats is so delightful for me. Martin finally shys away from his Dylan-esque vocals in The Walkmen’s Harry Nilsson album cover. I can feel the Dylan-influences in "Old Forgotten Soldier," but it doesn’t keep me from moving my head along to the mournful old time rhythm. The Walkmen could have pulled the hood over my eyes in this release, and even listening to A Hundred Miles Off and Pussy Cats back-to-back would fool me into declaring that whoever made Pussy Cats came fifty years before. Pussy Cats holds an old tyme feel, yet add their own unique spin on the album. That’s an understatement. The power tools intro to "Rock Around the Clock" goes to prove this, although their own musical touches to the song do as well, while still holding true to the vintage feel of the original. The addition of classic instruments like piano and saxophone in songs is not surprising from The Walkmen, but does go lengths to forming a transition from the original Pussy Cats to the new. "Mucho Mongo" is a fun-filled, mambo-like tune, and "Black Sails" is a deeply moving mournful ballad. Martin’s vocals move farthest from Dylan in "Black Sails," (the best vocal track on the release, chillingly brilliant) which excellently shows that the band can stand strong without their well-known sound. Pussy Cats, while it might not have raised the band to the prominent position A Hundred Miles Off did, is an interesting and respectful remake of Harry Nilsson’s work.

(Published at ComfortComes.com)