Cats in Paris – Courtcase 2000

You know how they were going on about Manchester like "rising again" and such with The Courteeners and The Ting Tings and that? Well, the whole time, I just wanted to hit people who wrote about Manchester in the context of bands like that and shove Cats In Paris in their ears. Cats In Paris are, firstly, the sound of the actual Manchester I inhabit- a Manchester by no means dominated by either major record labels or indeed Mancunians. Cats In Paris themselves can often be seen huddled together grinning at various gigs and clubnights. Even before I knew they were in a band, I thought they must be in a band, because, well”¦ how could they not? The physicality of the band is amazing, from moustachioed drummer to dollar jacketed bassist to really tall girl keyboardist to bearded, ginger, glasses-wearing, yet undeniably Pan-like frontman Michael Watson (the very same Michael Watson behind the also-fantastic Michael's Exciting Life webcomics, often featuring other members of the band).Secondly, Cats In Paris are by far and away the best band in Manchester. When I first saw them live I was stunned that something this good could exist so near to me and its only gotten better since. Amidst a vast horde of bad post-rock and tame folk types Cats In Paris stride over England´s cultural second city like”¦ well, that giant cat in the Monty Python sketch or something. Eating cars.I should probably go on less about Cats In Paris in relation to Manchester, but you know, I live in Manchester, so its kind of a moment for me that a really amazing band should emerge from it while I'm somewhere floating vaguely around. But in truth where Cats In Paris are from doesn’t really matter- they’ll never be a 'classic Manchester band' in the mould of The Fall or The Smiths or The Stone Roses because nothing about their music really inhabits the actual geography of their city in the same way. In fact, their music feels a lot more like its taking place in some sort of surrealist cartoon. The sort where hair becomes pillows and fingernails become knifeblades, kittens break into pieces and foxes change TV channels to shows no one could ever possibly like. Courtcase 2000 is, basically, a triumph. The only thing that is even vaguely disappointing about it is the fact that the artwork is not, as drummer Ben once told me it might be, a judge vomiting rainbows on a jury of cats. I can still remember a time when Cats In Paris seemed to be mostly instrumental but they’ve really made leaps and bounds in terms of actual songwriting skills; see the almost-straightforward 'Castle Walls' or 'Loose Tooth Tactile' for details. Meanwhile the likes of 'Cold Products' manage to showcase wonderfully the instrumental talents of (music MA, people) Michael and Ben. But the real joys of the album lie in the less familiar (well, to me at least) songs in the middle, between ambient bookends 'Button 1' and 'Button 2' (some sort of Fuck Buttons reference perhaps? But which out of Andy Hung and Ben Power would be Button 1 and which Button 2?)- 'Flamethrowers', 'The Curse of Jonah Brian' and in particular 'Goojfc'- schizophrenic prog-pop masterworks all, with some especially marvellous violin and vocal work.A short word should also be made regarding opener (also their standard live opener) 'Lovelovelovelove', which is also a massive highlight (probably second only to 'Goojfc'). Rising both gradually and fiercely into being with that whole glitchy "bom" part before turning into some sort of chilling mutant jazz deal replete with imagery of "sun-drenched kisses" and "wet paper pieces stuck together," crushing to a stop with that "please please on my knees" and brutal synth moan, like”¦ music in general hardly gets any better really. And I so 'Lovelovelovelove' this album. xx 95%Cats In Paris on MySpace