Review: KatzKab – 'Objet N°2 I/III'

KATZKAB
'Objet N°2 I/III'
SELF-RELEASED

Mixing cabaret, deathrock and electro-punk Berlin's KatzKab's first album 'Objet N°1' set the group apart from their previous incarnation as Katzenjammer Kabarett and asserted themselves as a whole new beast. Fast-forward two years and they return with another, albeit briefer, dose of iconoclastic genre-hopping Dadaist pop that recalls the likes of The B52s, Lene Lovich and Soft Cell.

Vik B. channels 80's post-punk heroines through her quirky vocal performance while the band blend catchy post-punk rock with kooky electronics and jazzy retro elements to weave a rich, energetic and engaging whole that is hard to resist.

'New Vision' kicks things off with a nice punky guitar riff and surf rock organ accompaniment for a B52s meets The Cramps sound. 'The Spell' follows on with a more modern electro-punk flavour that drops in a little coldwave meets batcave to keep things interesting. 'Boys' on the other hand is opens with a nice mournful cabaret piano intro before jumping straight back into a harder punk territory. The EP closes with 'Not My Home' which is pure electro cabaret with it's creepy opener interspersed with bouncy electro-punk.

The EP is nicely produced with a strong 80s leaning throughout. But in terms of the mix and overall sound it is bang up-to-date and preserves a nice pop appeal throughout, no matter how off the wall the band get.

This is a short, but nonetheless very sweet offering from the band. They've built upon the themes from the first album nicely and have continued to develop what was so enticing about their diverse approach. With this being the first of a trilogy of EPs that will make up the whole of 'Objet N°2' it hopefully shouldn't be long before we hear what else they have in store for us.

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