Polar Goldie Cats - Feral Phantasms

Genre rock Publisher Up Records External Links Official Polar Goldie Cats Website Official Up Records Website

Polar Goldie Cats take the feline fetish a little too far on their latest release, Feral Phantasms. The album opens with a dissonance of mews, purrs, and growls from all breeds of felidae, from tigers and lions to kittens and Persians. Maybe I just don’t like the animals, but the cacophony of cats was far too much for me to stand.

I had a bad taste in my mouth towards this album from the beginning. My feelings were validated after only a few seconds of further listening: there's no real wonder as to why the Polar Goldie Cats co-produced the album. Who, besides the members of the band and apparently Rodrigo Cevera, would invest their time into such a foolhardy venture? The entire album is a litany of instrumental monotony, hardly befitting the cost of the creation of album artwork. The discordant tracks are not relegated to just the opening. About five minutes in, I had to take my headphones off: Feral Phantasms is now the soundtrack to my nightmares, and not in a good way. It is the background of lame nightmares, such as ones concerning Alex Trebek following me to my high school English class.

I would have assumed that after a decade of making music, Polar Goldie Cats would be above sophomoric sonic tactics, like the inclusion of droning growls on their opening and closing tracks. Obviously, I was wrong. More than anything, Feral Phantasms makes me anxious and nervy, two feelings I abhor. Would I recommend the junior effort by Polar Goldie Cats? Maybe I myself am being catty, but I can answer with a loud and resounding: No.