Videos: King of Cats

Sometimes you have to stop and applaud raw talent. Brighton/Oxford-based Max Levy is unlikely to get playlisted on Radio 1 with his work under the King of Cats banner, but he has an undeniable gift for writing bloody excellent songs - and he seems pretty accomplished in performing them live with a certain charm going by these videos. Lyrically, musically, vocally it's entirely captivating, interesting, and - dare I say it - unique.





For his recorded stuff, check out the previous post on this blog here. You can also purchase his Reeks of Effort-released cassette, and keep an eye out for his forthcoming split with ides too.

Facebook | SoundCloud | Twitter | Bandcamp

MYSTYRYS

Given their name, you'd be excused for thinking that MYSTRYS were another one of those bands going for the whole anonymity thing to create a sense of, well, mystery. They're not, as it happens, but that's not to say the internet is awash with information about the London band. Though folks like The 405 first posted about them last November - and though they have support from Soft Arrows and Rough Trade DJs at their upcoming single launch party for Normals/Shadows (released through Psychic Healing Network on 27 August) - the three-piece seem to play their cards pretty close to their chest.

Not that any of that guff really matters. What's important is, of course, their music - and it just so happens to be good. While 'Shadows' is an urgent, scuzzy, guitar-led ditty that brings to mind post-punk bands like Killing Joke and Bauhaus, 'Normals' sounds a bit more 'Tom Vek' in its slightly funky feel and unusual song structure. It's noisy, energetic, and all a little bit mucky - and I like that.







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Black Seas

Black Seas are a London band who have been "playing around south east london for years". They have two songs on their SoundCloud page. They have no hint of a Facebook page. They have a Tumblr with just two posts - one of which is a song posted a fortnight ago, the other of which is a YouTube video 'removed by the user' posted on 1 March. They have a YouTube channel with their two songs on. They seem to have a fondness for aged pictures of naked women and skeletons. And that's pretty much all I know of them.

That's not strictly true. I also know that their songs - which they describe as "emotional and manly", and others might describe as 'doom pop' - are worth a few minutes of your time. 'Black Seas' is all whirring guitar noise, bouncing bass lines, and distant, Torches-like vocals; while earlier track 'Trembling' hears the emotive, baritone vocals brought to the front with jangling guitars gently providing the melodic backdrop. While it's still a little rough around the edges ('Black Seas' doesn't seem to have been mastered yet), it's still very much enjoyable and impressive stuff for a band that not many people seem to know too much about.





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