Cat Canteri
Album: When We Were Young
Label: Mountain King
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.catcanteri.com

Having been released back in her native Australia back in September last year, Cat Canteri's "When We Were Young" finally gets a release in the Northern Hemisphere. Even though "When We Were Young" is Cat's debut solo album, you might recognise the name as being one third of the Melbourne based power trio, The Stillsons, with both of the other members of that band making guest appearances here.

With a combination of powerful songs delivered in an alt.folk, alt.country and at times poppy style, I guess references to the Waifs are almost inevitable and actually as common cultural references go, it's not a bad one, there are similar sensibilities that permeate the material, but if you played them side by side, there are fewer links across the material than you might initially suspect.

Canteri's real strength lies in distinctive tone of her voice, like Carole King, she has the ability to make seemingly unimportant things matter and important things matter a lot, capturing some quite difficult themes, such as anorexia, and incorporating them into songs that people would want to listen to, rather than always cutting towards the melancholic or victim mentality.

Whilst she has the vocal ability, enhanced by some superb arrangements, to take you to some really dark places, she also has the freedom of expression to bring you back. Similarly, whilst some of the songs have a vulnerability to them, you never lose sight of the strength that's needed to come back.

Cat Canteri, has delivered an album that has real expression, hopefully a visit to these order will follow in some order, in the meantime, this album fills a gap I wasn't even aware existed.

Neil King