Svelte – Cat’s Paw (Svelte/Universal) CD Review

November 27, 2010

As might be expected from a group featuring two former members of the much-loved Supergroove (Tim Stewart and Ben Sciascia), the words โ€˜humourโ€™ and โ€˜funโ€™ are not foreign concepts to Svelte. This is evident right from the get-go on the first track, and single, โ€˜Grind Your Bones.โ€™

In the works for two long years, this 11-track debut is a bit of an oddball release, and difficult to tag. Stewartโ€™s vocals have a gruff, soulful characteristic that brings an organic quality to the project, but at times the lyrics think theyโ€™re sharper than they are, and after a couple of spins, the songs donโ€™t strike this reviewer as especially memorable.

The same canโ€™t be said of the performances, or the production/engineering, which is uniformly excellent. Another former Supergroover, Karl Steven, acted as producer, and contributed his organs to the project โ€“ Hammond B3 and BVs, to be precise โ€“ and heโ€™s done a great job. In fact, apart from bass levels that are just a bit too prominent, this is one of the punchiest, best-sound recordings Iโ€™ve heard from NZ.

The tracks range from the overtly funk-fed to power rock to almost pensive, atmospheric numbers, and perhaps thatโ€™s the problem; although thereโ€™s something resembling a group sound here, it needs some developing into one thatโ€™s unmistakably theirs, and their songs could do with a few nudges and lyrical tweaks to bring them up to a standard that makes you want to push the โ€˜playโ€™ button repeatedly. GARY STEEL

Sound = 4

Music = 3

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Steel has been penning his pungent prose for 40 years for publications too numerous to mention, most of them consigned to the annals of history. He is Witchdoctor's Editor-In-Chief/Music and Film Editor. He has strong opinions and remains unrepentant. Steel's full bio can be found here

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