Cat’s Eyes - Treasure House

The Guardian 80

(RAF via Kobalt)

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As is custom with duos, Cat’s Eyes relies on its members’ opposing forces: Rachel Zeffira, a Canadian soprano, composer and multi-instrumentalist who summons celestial delicacy from every song, manages to smoothe out the barbed post-punk tendencies of Horrors frontman Faris Badwan. On their second album proper – if you discount their Ivor-nominated soundtrack to the Peter Strickland film The Duke of Burgundy – their sound has expanded, taking in widescreen compositions full of Disney romanticism (Treasure House), Ennio Morricone-inspired soundcsapes (Girl in the Room), spooky neo-noir atmospherics (Everything Moves Towards the Sun) and a moment of reverb-drenched surf rock guitar that would make Tarantino giddy (Be Careful Where You Park Your Car). What is most intriguing is their bond; particularly during the sinister love affair of Drag – “the things we do when we’re together, if they only knew they would keep us apart” – a jarring narrative that’s more gruesome horror than gooey romcom.

The Guardian 80

(RAF)

Few side projects turn out as well as Cat’s Eyes, a bit of extracurricular fun for Horrors frontman Faris Badwan and Italian-Canadian soprano Rachel Zeffira, which has so far delivered two swooningly lovely records and a pair of guerrilla gigs in the Vatican and Buckingham Palace. The musical chemistry is undiminished on their third album where a languid kind of heartache holds sway. Their vocals drift over lush orchestral arrangements and twine elegantly on the stately sadness of We’ll Be Waiting. But it’s not all lovesick pining and velvety strings. There’s spiky, handclap-assisted pop on Be Careful Where You Park Your Car, and a terrific blend of distorted garage rock and blissed-out psychedelia on Standoff.