Successful Side Projects

Faris Badwan has been a busy dude. The Horrors’ frontman released the band’s third studio album in July, just three months after Cat’s Eyes, his side project with classical soprano vocalist Rachel Zeffira, released their debut self-titled album.

Their first gig? An afternoon mass at the Vatican, if that gives you any inclination of what this album sounds like. The entire album is soft, unique and chilling. Song themes mostly pertain to romance and heartache.

“The Lull” was Cat’s Eyes first recorded demo and is a sweet love song that would certainly lull one to sleep (but not out of boredom), with both Badwan’s and Zeffira’s vocals making appearances on the track: “On a platform that lies right on the coast/The sea calls to me/It pulls me in/And I, and I…”

“Bandit” is an edgy tune compared to the rest, with hard horns, a lonely whistle, a lashing sound and Zeffira belting out her dissatisfaction over a heart-stealing man: “Creeping in your dreams/Coming, going as he pleases/He’s a bandit.”

The album ends quietly and soothingly with “I Knew It Was Over.” Badwan’s voice tones down to a much more enjoyable level compared to a song like “Sooner Or Later” where he sounds a lot like Frankenstein’s monster trying to form sentences for the first time. I’d have no problem playing that song at my Halloween party. However, the creepiness is not exactly a fault or negative aspect of the album.

Hopefully there is more to come from Cat’s Eyes. At just under a half hour of music, it simply is not enough.