Search - De Novo Dahl :: Cats & Kittens

Psychedelia, TN

M. Miller | TN | 05/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got the chance to hear these guys play live and after a few minutes I had to say I was hooked, so I bought this, their new double disc album.



And you know what? Their live shows are pretty awesome, but this holds up to that, and more. Whether it be their more sentimental numbers such as 'Jeffrey', where "Jesus told me, buy these roller skates for little Jeffrey", or whether it be their more flavorful 'Piggy's Misadventure'. And that's only my two current personal favorites.



Oh, and I forgot that is only the first CD in the album. The second takes these same great songs from the first one and remixes them, into fashions which may be better or worse then the original (you decide), but either way are just great anyways.



With their release through Amazon and elsewhere; hopefully, even more will get to see their "psychodelic claymation art core pop extravaganza", (as they describe themselves), because the music is well worth it."

Dance, dance

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 06/18/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"They're from Nashville, but De Novo Dahl is definitely not country.



The indie rock band get ambitious in their debut, "Cats & Kittens," a two-disc album that spans from dance-rock to... well, dance-rock, with a twist of new wave. Rather than getting mired in the belief of their own coolness, however, they keep their melodies fun and bouncy, melodic and energetic.



The first disc is called "Cats," and veers merrily from one energetic dancepop song to the next. At times it sounds like a mad fusion of David Bowie and the Super Furry Animals. sunny melodies and danceable rhythms. At times they get a bit too sentimental, but often redeem songs like "Jeffrey" with driving basslines and quirky vocals.



There's a stripped-down quality to these songs, despite their swirly energy. They rely most heavily just on guitar and percussion, with some twinkly chimes and rippling electric organ in the mix. It's crunchy, concise, and manages to be lots of fun without cheap gimmicks. It's just good, danceable music with a solid base.



"Kittens" is not truly a second disc, actually -- it's remixed, reworked, and (most confusingly) retitled. But it's not mere padding, as many remix albums are; the songs here are so incredibly different from their counterparts that you can barely tell that they are in any way related. Just listen to "Target Practice" and "All Over Town" one after the other.



As a result, it's both better and worse than "Cats." It's better in the sense that it adds an enchanting extra layer to the music, and shows the hallucinogenic pop mentality De Novo Dahl is capable of. "Wanna Beer Man?", for example, sounds like the insane electronic twins of Kasabian. On the other hand, the songs are sometimes overloaded with krautrock, wild electronica and it loses that down-to-earth quality that "Cats" had.



But the most important questions are: Is "Cats" fun? Is "Kittens" fun? The answers are, respectively, yes and yes.



Despite sounding a little like this band and that singer, De Novo Dahl has plenty of funky energy of their own. They have wonderfully complex guitar and sweet bass, energetic drums and twirling keyboards. And there's an overriding sense of endearing weirdness that keeps this from being just another generic powerpop album.



De Novo Dahl mingles sweetness, energetic dance and some killer grooves in "Cats and Kittens." It's a fun and enjoyable experience, all two discs of it."

Fantastic Record

Kosmo Vinyl | Somewhere between Baltimore and Washington, DC | 06/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So far this is my second favorite record for 2005, it's a stunning first full length release for De Novo Dahl. Although the band hails from outside Nashville, they are influenced by David Bowie, Super Furry Animals and the Beach Boys and not country. The first disk "Cats" is glorious collection of pop songs none of them cookie cutter soundalikes. The seond disk "Kittens", takes the songs on "Cats" and remixes them to an even wider range of sounds. If your looking for a nice slice of danceable Indie pop look no further then this record. Favorite Tracks "All Over Town", "Monday Morning" and Adventure and Misadventures of Piggy...."