Cat on Form

Item: Structure and Fear
Author: Tyler Baber

Structure and Fear

(2003)

Reviewed by Tyler Baber

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Label Southern RecordsDecapolisAugust 2003

hardcore post-hardcore punk

2003 was a mind expanding year for myself, musically. I had long ago determined that I detested 99.9% of music that fit under the hardcore/punk tag. Something about the political agenda, the constant screaming that lost its passion circa 1985, and the redundant breakdowns just never grew on me. But lo, over the past 8 months I heard an album that was solidly hardcore/punk and gave new meaning to the genre for me. Suddenly I realized that all the conventions could work if they were done with feeling and done well, but most importantly if they were done with the listener in mind.

British four piece Cat on Form is not the band that made me feel this. Cat on Form's debut LP, Structure and Fear, actually made me remember why I hated hardcore/punk in the first place even after all those positive feelings toward the genre had been grown thanks to another band and album. The Southern Records release is a stereotype, nothing more and nothing less.

The music is chaotic in all the ways that chaos has become cliché. There are slow openings, jingly guitars with the gain turned two notches past excruciating, a drummer whose kit consists of a snare and a billion cymbals, and breakdowns where the musicians are each breaking down a different song all at the same time. Couple that with poor production and you have the makings of the album your friend's band recorded when he was 15. We don't need to import it from Britain when we can get it plentifully in our local scene. Come on, chaotic breakdowns and scratchy screams don't make you hardcore anymore than driving a Volkswagen with a peace frog sticker makes you a democrat.

The vocals are split three ways between the guitarists Daniel Jones and Steven Ansell and bassist Jamie Aston. One of those guys (nothing says which one) is the group's token good vocalist, and as such he is primarily in the background. Jamie is an interesting touch as a female who basically just sings a few times on slower tracks and occasionally screams to remind the listener that Pretty Girls Make Graves is a much better band. The other guy screams (not yells) all of the stuff that the listener isn't led to care about anyway. If I may take a tangent...

Screaming was a good idea when it was first used. Screaming can be a good idea if used well. But screaming all the time so that it not only damages your vocal cords but also makes what you have to say difficult to understand takes away from the passion that is normally found in occasional screaming. There may have been passion in the first scream-core band, but since it became the cool thing to do and people have screamed about the same things for 20 years, it just isn't interesting any more. So knock it off.

Ok, tangent over. Back to the album, Structure and Fear is lyrically filled with the same political angst messages we've been hearing since we left the womb. Capitalism is bad! War is bad! Anarchy in the UK! I've seen SLC Punk to know that one day all of you kids will grow up and realize how silly your radicalism is.

Another typical hardcore/punk stereotype Cat on Form borrows from is having killer song titles that are far better than the actual songs. "I Broke a Nail," "Set Them on Fire With Their Own Matches," and my personal favorite "Back Off Man, I'm a Scientist" are all amazing titles which serve as one of the only redeemable parts of this band/album.

The other redeemable point is the track "Rock and Roll Song." Musically it is a fun, fast punk anthem sung by the-guy-who-doesn't-scream-and-has-talent. It is punk rock in ways the rest of the album never could hope to be. And since Cat on Form is in favor of tearing down the system, just go ahead and download it and stick it to the man.