Catherine Wheel
Like Cats And Dogs

THE REVIEW

Most of the tracks in this collection of outtakes and restorations seem to belong to the first two albums in the band's history. They resemble "Ferment" and "Chrome" in terms of sound, structure, and taste.

In keeping with the best traditions, among the dust and scraps, there's always something precious and inexplicably set aside, or worse, forgotten. There is definitely stuff here that is of no use, starting with the unnecessary cover of "Wish You Were Here," continuing with the sleepy "Car" or the boring "Saccharine": just playing guitars at the speed of sound at regular intervals isn't enough to make shoegaze, nor does singing with three hundred echoes help. Good shoegaze requires solid tunes to play and airy melodic lines, worthy of singing.

In the mix, there are again great shoegaze tracks for fans of the genre but not of absolute value, alternating with "best of" gems, starting with the intriguing "Mouthful Of Air," very sophisticated and understated. And yet mention for "Girl Stand Still" among carillon-like guitars, touches and arpeggios, echoes and plucking, darts and splashes. More than in "Ferment," "Backward Gitar" with its suitably intense refrains, would fit well within "Chrome." Instead, it is precisely in the style and quality of Dickinson and the band's masterpiece debut that "Tongue Twisted" belongs: a tormented track, relentless, with a thousand ups and downs.

Four stunning songs that leave you with a bitter taste, because they remind you of what Catherine Wheel could have continued to produce, had they decided not to assault the charts by changing (multiple times) their genre.