Reviews
Artist:Cats And Crows Album: The Mourning After
Label: Well Street
Tracks: 11
Website: https://www.catsandcrows.bandcamp.com
The Mourning After is the second full album from North Wales duo Cats and Crows, featuring Isaac Burchall on instruments and vocals, and Andy Cooper on percussion. While their line-up has changed drastically from the ten artists that first came together to release the EP Honest Crimes, both their debut full album Winter, and this follow up, highlights a duo operating in perfect harmony. Written and recorded during lockdown, The Mourning After can't help but capture a sense of reflectiveness that most of us have been feeling over the last year.
What is immediately evident from the first play is that this is a duo who aren't going to pad out their music needlessly. They know when a song needs more time to breathe, and when to keep it short and sweet. The perfect example comes early on with one of the best tracks on the album, I Still Remain, with it's slow build up and wonderful contrast of piano and drums. One of the longer songs on the record, they know just when to pick up the pace and let it soar, allowing time for the warmth to spread. We then go from the longest track to the shortest, with Seventeen, A Volley allowed no time to overstay its welcome but packs a beautiful punch. Everything feels the length it needs to be.
Sail Away is another highlight, with the vocals of Burchall coming to the fore, sounding like a cross between Glen Hansard and Tobias Ben Jacob. Who Am I is a gorgeously pared back and filled with a glorious sense of desolation and introspection. This Old House is an unsentimental look back at a past that clearly doesn't evoke much sense of nostalgia, and again shows great judgement from the duo on when to lift a song, and when to let it breathe.
The Mourning After may have been born out of volatile times, but it always walks the line superbly well. This is mournful at times, but never maudlin, and there's a feeling of hopeful optimism that sparks up throughout the record. There is sadness here, as well as isolation and alienation, but it never feels overwhelming, and it's never long before they let the warmth slowly permeate again. The Mourning After is a wonderfully captivating and enthralling album, and marks out Cats and Crows as a duo to keep an eye on.
Adam Jenkins
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