summer cats

I hate it when really great bands sit right under my nose, yet I'm too oblivious or caught up in my own reflection whatever's spinning on my ipod to notice them. Take Summer Cats - they're from Melbourne, they've released a split 7" with Eux Autres, and I used to write messages to one of the guys on Last.fm. So how come it's taken so long for me to find them? Sadly, I must shake my head at this one.

Summer Cats definitely have that Australian charm about them - they're almost power pop, but not in a blowin' the fuse type of way, and I can hear the Melbourne suburban sound in their songs. It's something so subtle that it's quite difficult to describe but there's something in their guitars which I also hear in the likes of The Cat's Miaow and even The Lucksmiths. Perhaps there's some scratchy guitar sound which has been trademarked as "North Carlton" or something. Whatever it is, it's working because bloody Melbourne has been stealing all of the best bands and creating the best sounds for years and years. However, Brisbane did produce The Go-Betweens and Perth produced The Triffids, so that's certainly a success for the smaller cities of Australia.

I don't think they've been to Brisbane yet but next time Summer Cats are in town, I'll definitely be up front dancing away!