Gypsy and The Cat :: Gilgamesh

Just when we think the all-time low album sales of 2010 could only spell further doom and gloom for the record industry, and consequently artists hopeful to break into it, a band like Gypsy and The Cat comes along to quell our fears.

No more than 18 months ago, Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers were two unknown DJs playing French and German inspired house at Melbourne’s CBD club Roxanne. Recalling their past in a recent interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Bacash and Towers thought of themselves in the early days as ‘scenesters’ with an urge to cultivate a relationship between rock and dance. The boys used a friend’s space to develop their sound, keeping in mind that they wanted to produce something fresh. “We felt like the dance stuff was done,” says Towers. “We wanted to try to write a pop album”.

Two years, a major-label deal and 3 entries in the latest Triple J Hottest 100 later, Gypsy and The Cat are becoming a dominant force in our major venues and on radio, proving that major success is achievable with the right insight, a bit of luck and most importantly, good music. Gilgamesh is their first full-length debut, bristled with singles, and is a great entry into the ever-expanding Australian catalogue of modern dance-pop.

Fans of Empire Of The Sun, Miami Horror or Cut Copy (also fantastically Australian) will find Gypsy and the Cat to be literally on song with Gilgamesh. Take elements of retro melodramatic-pop the likes of Fleetwood Mac or Toto and inject it with modern synthetic melody and you’ll be close to the orbit of Gypsy and The Cat.

Gilgamesh starts with “Time To Wander”, a strong opener with a melancholic chorus – the kind of song that makes you stare off into the distance in daydream. There’s a lot of production value buried in there that gives it this quality. You might have to listen to it twice to pick up the breathy sounds and hidden backing ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. “The Piper’s Song” is just as well constructed, and could almost be the sequel to Toto’s massive hit “Africa”, owing to the harmonies in the chorus and its rhythm. The album’s standout single is next song “Jona Vark”, a track responsible for gaining Gypsy and the Cat most of their widespread attention. Its infectious chorus is probably to blame – in no time you’ll find it following you around in your head wherever you go. Such is the agenda of pop music. It’s no wonder the band chose to break this album with these three songs first. They garnered the band three slots in the hottest 100, making Gypsy and the Cat one of the few acts to take away three gongs on the list. Amazing for a band who were figuring out how to stray from the pack only 18 months prior.

At the risk of sounding obsequious, there is of course a flipside to the fluency with which the band borrow from the past. Songs like the title song “Giglamesh” are just too similar to things I’ve heard before; think 1927 “That’s When I think of You”, and you won’t help but feel like you’re overhearing your Dad blasting WSFM in the next room. And the title of the song “Watching Me, Watching You”….hello? Have Gypsy and the Cat heard that terrible song by Rogue Traders, with the same chorus? Or the Bill Withers song with the same title? It’s an unfortunate label for a song that is pleasantly MGMT–eqsue.

Sometimes the pastiche works, songs like “Human Desire” for example borrow the best from minimalist dance tracks of the past, akin to Eurythmics with a BeeGees inspired chorus. “Breakaway”, has a great melody, and has that something special about it in it’s chorus that earlier track “Time to Wander” does. It proves that it’s when Gypsy and The Cat simultaneously borrow and innovate that they reach the heights of Cut Copy and others of a similar ilk; you could even say they might surpass it.

Is there enough variety on this album? Probably not. Does it matter? Probably not. The majority of Australia’s music listening public have been in bed now with retrospective electropop for going on quite sometime, and it seems there is still enough sexual chemistry left in the relationship to last at least a few more years. It spells good news for Gypsy and The Cat, and means their album couldn’t come at a better time, giving them longevity in the short term that lasts long enough until they make their next move. Their relatively short rise to success is certainly reassuring for sceptics that doubt the music industry has any room left in it for newcomers – even if they do sound like they arrived on a time machine.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

8/10 Stars.

Highlights :: 'Time to Wander', 'The Piper's Song' & 'Jona Vark'