Alternative rock band Ship’s Cat latest album “Recovery Position” tells a tuneful and tempestuous tale on navigating the stormy seas of life.
Leeds based band Ship’s Cat was founded during the COVID-19 lockdowns, with a shared passion for creativity bringing its members together to find an outlet. Whilst the songwriter and guitarist Phillip Veitch was facing challenging times and the loss of family members he turned to music as a helping hand, the result of this dedicated work is their debut album “Recovery Position” – a musical guide on accepting and overcoming pain.
With a fiery blend of rock, grunge, and shoegaze the music of Ship’s Cat is at its core tumultuous. Combining reverb-soaked instrumentals, raging electric guitar, thunderous percussion and melodic vocals together “Recovery Position” is a record that fully immerses the listener in its defined sound.
Death is a prominent theme in “Recovery Position”. Opening with the track “Death Will Be The End Of Me” the album starts on a sinister note with cascades of electric guitar enveloping the listener in darkness. Following on from this, the song “Walking Dead” is more playful with jagged, broken rhythm instrumentals reflecting a zombie-like confusion whereas the track “These Are My Last Days” has a slower more subdued sound demonstrating the feeling of someone disappearing into themselves.
As well as themes of loss and death, there is an agitated sense of doom to Ship Cat’s debut record which often betrays insanity.
The song “Monster” uses ominous, tense chord progressions as well as a voiceover from a doctor describing a patients decline into mania as the instrumentals of the song descend further into chaos. There is a prevalent feeling of someone who is lost at sea on this album with its unpredictable instrumentation.
“The Journey” is a moment that especially emphasises this atmosphere, using an ever-developing song structure and driving melodies pushing onwards toward its end.
Despite its dark themes “Recovery Position” is an album filled with hope and determination to survive. The track “Recovery Position” is more mellow and mellifluous number that feels healing after the mayhem of the first few tracks with lyrics detailing finding comfort and help in another. Similarly, the song “Somewhere To Hide” signifies finding solace in another whereas the more explosive “Maybe Love Will See Us Through” is a rousing rock song that bursts into a heartening ballad.
Despite its overall strength, towards the end of the record cracks start to show in “Recovery Position”. Due to its length, the last tracks on the album pack less of a punch with repetitive lyrics and instrumentals that forfeit the songs powerful message.
The closing track “I Was The One Holding Your Hand” is too long with too little force and progression for it to make an impactful finish, unfortunately creating an anti-climactic end to an otherwise potent album. Still, “Recovery Position” is an impressive and emotive debut from a promising band.
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