Peter Cat Recording Co. – BETA

It’s been a long old wait since Peter Cat Recording Co. dropped their brilliant sophomore, ‘Bismillah’, one of 2019’s most refreshing releases. Creating songs simultaneously steeped in sounds of the past yet wholly their own, PCRC transcultural noise and crooning 50s vocals make for strange bedfellows on paper but work excellently together. Now, with a few worldwide tours under their belts and a pandemic out of the way, the five-piece has returned with BETA, a beautiful continuation of their unique brand of pop. CLASH is happy to report it’s just as smooth and cinematic as their early releases.

Opening with the distorted sounds of thunder, the seven-minute ‘Flowers’ soon melts into waves of sitar, saxophone, and manipulated voices. From the off, it’s clear that the band is leaning into more psychedelic flourishes, backed up by the LP’s fantastically eye-catching cover art. After an extended Bollywood-worthy intro, lead single ‘People Never Change’ shows the outfit has no issue producing an earworm as good as ‘Floated By’ from their debut. This time around, however, PCRC lean into bouncing synths and an increased confidence in using the studio as an instrument. It’s a solid gold bop and demands to be blasted out while the sun is shining.

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On ‘Foolmuse,’ the group utlise a soul rock groove not too dissimilar to Alabama Shakes, Kartik Pillai switching up his croon for something more direct and longing. It’s a subtle change that keeps the album from repeating itself. Happy to keep us guessing, ‘Black and White’ begins with a cosmic racket that could have come straight from my bloody valentine’s ‘Loveless’ before erupting into an off-kilter funk song with disco beats and rave keys. In other hands, this would be an unholy mess of clashing genres, but PCRC has such an inherent vibe which acts as soothing glue for any song.

The album’s back end, namely ‘I Deny Me’ and ‘Control Room,’ sees the band embrace more laid-back indie fare, stripping the runtimes to three minutes and letting the acoustic guitar take the lead. Both harken back to indie folk’s noughties heyday while incorporating Indian instrumentation and, as ever, a dash of the cinematic. The band has mentioned how their music is created with a DIY ethos, with songs recorded in abandoned cottages and makeshift studios all over. It is a testament to the quintet’s talent and creativity that the final product sounds anything but rough around the edges. There’s an otherworldly element always present, real-life audio of the surrounding areas being added to the miniature worlds they’ve created in their songs.

With Sawhney’s past flirtation with film school, it’s no surprise that album three takes ‘Bismillah’s pictorial wistfulness and amps it up another notch. BETA is a lushly produced and uncommonly confident set from an outfit happy to take its time and do things its way. Stick it on and let the melodies wash over you.

8/10

Words: Sam Walker-Smart

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