A few weeks ago Papa Cougar and I shared an earphone each, and a tube journey home, as he played me Chicago’s Pet Lions. They were, he informed me, well overdue a review at Cougar HQ. Without hesitation, I jumped at the opportunity to spout my opinionated take on their debut EP ‘Soft Right’.
Let’s start off by addressing the elephant in the room; you’d be unlikely to listen to this release without immediately noticing striking similarities to The Strokes. Firstly, lead singer Karl Østby’s vocals are certainly delivered in a similar vein to Julian Casablancas’, though perhaps they lack some of the panache. This is compounded by guitar sounds borrowed from ‘Room On Fire’ and Moretti-esque, simple but effective, straight rock drum patterns.
However, Pet Lions are not rip-off merchants by any stretch of the imagination. ‘Soft Right’ unveils lyrical prowess and a knack for crafting inventive song structures. There is a strong college element to the whole affair but thankfully it is more Vampire Weekend than Wheatus. When married with confident meandering bass lines and a mature approach to space within music the overall result is a release that is more than worthy of a few spins.
Pet Lions’ ability to hammer out a catchy dynamic pop song suggests they may well graduate to bigger and better futures. If so it is more likely to be in the shape of ‘I Will Track You Down’ than the more immediate ‘Roman History’ which, despite sounding like a billboard contender, veers that little bit too close to Strokes territory.
the ‘Soft Right‘ EP is available by signing up to the band’s mailing list.
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Post by Kenny the pragmatist.
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TRACKS:
Pet Lions – I Will Track You Down
