Songs for Tuesdays

As their name implies, Australia’s Summer Cats' new full length Songs for Tuesdays is full of catchy, sweet melodies that are reminiscent of beach weather. Thankfully, however, the Summer Cats are not too sweet for their own good and the record packs a pleasantly noisy punch and showcases occasional fuzzed-out feedback squeak.

With their chirpy vocal lines, crunchy rhythm guitars, melodies full of jangle, and pounding drums the Summer Cats recall the hey-day of 1990s indie pop. Outfits such as Talulah Gosh, Black Tambourine, and Henry’s Dress immediately come to mind, especially on tracks such as “Let’s Go!,” “Fulton Gurls,” “In June,” and “Paperweight.” It’s fitting, then, that Songs for Tuesdays is released on the newly revived Slumberland, which released similar bands in the 1990s.

Like many indie bands with similar tastes, the Summer Cats’ sound also reaches further back. Careful listeners can pick out references to sound and scene defining bands from Australia and New Zealand, such as The Go-Betweens and The Chills. The Summer Cats lyrics relish life’s simple pleasures, a tendency particularly evident on songs such as “Waking Up.” They also revel in the tendency of modern young people to travel, or dream of traveling, singing “I could be anywhere, anywhere but here,” on “St. Tropez.”

With a full sound that bounces and bubbles along and never looses energy, Songs for Tuesdays is a solid pop record and a pleasure to listen to. In addition, Summer Cats paid close attention to the album’s design. The cover is wallpapered with images of hand-painted birds. In an age of digital downloads, this is a record worth buying.

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