New Record Review: Cats In Space – ”Kickstart The Sun”.

Having formed in 2015, Cats In Space are just about to release their 5th studio album, ‘Kickstart The Sun’…..and it’s a monster!

The band are made up of members who have, to put it politely, ‘Been round the block a bit’. Which, in their case, is a very good thing. Because they know exactly what works. Their sound can best be described as an amalgamation of many of the finest groups from the 70’s and early 80’s, and if you’re a fan of Queen, ELO, Jellyfish, Styx, Elton John, or Thin Lizzy, there will surely be something there for you to enjoy.

Now to the review of the album.

Those expecting a change of sound, style, whatever, from Cats in Space’s previous releases will be disappointed. Well, why change a winning formula? That’s not to say it’s the same old, same old, it’s just a different type of excellence. Amongst the 15 tracks, there are at least 3 or 4 songs that really do rate as high as anything they’ve done before. That’s some going, judging by what’s been released in the past. Personally, I rate ‘Scarecrow’, and ‘Atlantis’, as the bands best albums. This is neck and neck with them both, IMO.

After a brief intro, one of those great new tracks ‘King Of Stars’ kicks in. What a song! Throughout the album, all the main tick points you’d expect from a great album are on show. Great songwriting, tick, great musicianship, tick, harmonies to die for, tick. But on this particular track, and all the way through the album, the vocals of Damien Edwards really shine. He can rightly be called one of Britain’s best male vocalists now. Other fantastic songs from the album are, my personal favourite, ‘Bootleg Bandoleros’, the title track, and ‘Fifty One Pillow Bed’. Wait till you hear these!

I know main writer, Greg Hart, was contemplating having this as a single album, but there would have to have been a culling of at least 4/5 tracks. I can only hear a couple of ‘slightly average’ ( for them) songs that might’ve gone, but there are just too many goodies on show. A quick thumbs up too, for engineer, Ian Caple. He’s again captured a sound that’s as good as anything around.