It has been a busy year of recording and touring for the Cheatahs. In February 2015, the band released their EP, Sunne, and followed it up with Murasaki in late March. The band ended the year with their second full-length release, Mythologies. Sunne and Murasaki were fantastic blends of Byrdsian noise pop, guitar jangle and full frontal shoegaze. On Mythologies, the band steps away slightly from their shoegaze constraints into something even more spectacular.
The band was formed in 2009 by vocalist Nathan Hewitt and guitarist James Wignall. They recruited bassist Dean Reid and Drummer Mark Raue, completing the formation of their band. The band calls London home, but are a quasi UN of sorts with the quartet members coming from different countries. Hewitt is Canadian, Reid is an American, Raue is German, and Wignall is from the UK.
Recording Mythologies was a bit of a nomadic experience. It was self-produced by the band over a year in various studios. The studios included Chem 19 studios in Glasgow, studios in London, a church in Ramsgate and also drummer Raue’s shared home in a monolithic high-rise overlooking MI5 offices. It was also over this period that the band organised a gallery-based improvisation noise show. The band has toured the UK, Europe and the US supporting both of this year’s released EPS. Currently, the band is in the US touring to support Mythologies.
Like the EPs released this year, the name and lyrical content of Mythologies were influenced by the literature the band was reading. Sunne was inspired by Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises”. Murasaki was influenced by the Japanese novelist Murasaki Shikibu and her novel “The Tale of Genji”. Mythologies takes its inspiration from Roland Barthes’ collection of essays on semiotics and myth. Barthé’s essays explore Freudian Screen Memory, the fluidity of memory, meta-modernism, and Neo-Mysticism, all of which influenced the band while recording the album.
Mythologies is an amalgam of manic rhythms and garage-ambient punk, married to the band’s signature shoegaze experimentation. Here, however, they leave some of the haze of the noise genre behind, breaking into a more technicoloured universe of sonic wonder. The album starts with “Red Lakes,” subtitled “Sternstunden,” which is German for “finest hour.” The gauzy start is disrupted by distorted looped vocals and powerful percussion. It has this soaring, trippy sound that is instantly addictive and shows a progression from this year’s earlier releases.
Submerged guitar riffs set off the song “Channel View.” The song steps away from the shoegaze genre, making for a more mainstream altie song. Like all the songs on the release, it is brief and doesn’t exceed the 5-minute mark. Unlike many shoegaze songs that can go on for a while, this song has a definite structure, and so do all the songs on this release. It’s as if the band wanted to build anticipation for each song without wearing out the listener. The song is impactful and concise.
Watching TV has a classic ’90s alternative feel, evoking the slower tempo of the Jesus and Mary Chain. This song is a definite grower, laden with hooks. This is a song that showcases how the band takes the shoegaze genre and uses it to underpin the experimentation they incorporate while adding other influences. The results are a stellar track. In Flux, it jump-starts the tempo after the slower Watching TV. It is energy-filled with a definite post-punk vibe. It recalls the Pixies at their harmonic best, along with echoes of REM’s vocals from their early days. The delightful harmony belies the gritty punk accompaniment.
The Jesus and Mary Chain influenced Freak Waves would have had no problem fitting in with the band’s Sunn EP; it’s a sonic feast that could be a companion to their song “Controller”.
The album hits its stride with “Signs to Lorelei,” which features a magnificent pulled-around keyboard sound. The song is backed by solid percussion. It contains less feedback and is cleaner in production. The lulling, majestic song has great vocal harmonisation, making it oh so good. Following Signs to Lorelei is the catchy, enthralling “Hey, Sen,” which seems to blend the best of Husker Du, Pixies, and Jesus and Mary Chain, but with the imprimatur of the Cheatahs’ great guitar and reverb vocals, making it their own. The song addresses themes of memory and yearning.
Deli, Rome has a wonky guitar intro and breaks into a very organic garage band sound if somewhat off kilter. It’s filled with energy and aggression, and will be a barnburner live. Colorado is a return to the band’s wheelhouse: a full-frontal, shoegaze sonic attack. It’s trippy and swirling, and for fans, it’s a track that won’t disappoint.
One of my personal favourites on the album is Su-pra, which starts off segueing from Colorado with this explosive pinball arcade sound. The song is a forceful, psychedelic take-no-prisoners rocker. It is simply prismatic sonic goodness. This song also segues right into “Seven Sisters,“ which is not as aggressive but still bright and powerful, with the guitars guiding the way. The multi-track vocal creates an ebb and flow, giving it an oscillating feel. The song builds and builds to a majestic climax.
The song “Murasaki” is included on this LP but was first available on the EP of the same name this March. It plays in the same signature sound that the Cheatahs displayed on that EP and Sunne. The song is another solid track packed with arresting listening moments. It gives a feeling of interstellar sound, along with the English and Japanese lyrics, which creates a disembodied feeling. Mysteci has an ambient feeling with the distorted guitar lulling like the ocean; it is psychedelic and ethereal. “Reverie Bravo”, the final song on the release, is percussion-driven, with keyboards at the forefront, and a definite change from the wonky guitar distortion found at times throughout the release.
With Mythologies Cheatahs fans will find much to like, and for those who are first investigating the band’s efforts, you are in for an addictive experience. I have found that when encountering the Cheatahs’ prior works, the songs grow on you with each listen. The songs grab hold and stay with you. By looking to expand their horizons beyond the genre of Shoegaze and incorporating various other styles, the band has created an engaging work. Dabbling in electronica, psychedelia, and post-punk has widened the band’s palette, giving them new tools to work with in the studio. Well done!
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