11 Apr 2023 // A review by Peter K Malthus
I'd not heard any of David Sutton's previous releases, before being given this one to review. Which is surprising, given the impressive number of albums released, Cat Food being number ten. Reading through some previous reviews, I got the distinct impression that David has a broad and eclectic writing style, covering many genres, and Cat Food is no exception.

The first track is Psalm 136, a catchy, danceable little pop rock number, with David having drawn the lyrics from the namesake verse in the Bible. His joy in his faith is clear with this song, and the mood is buoyant and uplifting. Above The Clouds is up next, an almost Pink Floyd-esque track, a mellow and reflective song about relationships, with a lovely hook to the chorus.

Track three, Bird Of Prey is easily my favourite, with a distinctly 70's vibe, a song that would be a perfect addition to the soundtrack of The Sopranos, or some of Tarantino's earlier work, it's full of soulful swagger. Primsore is quite a change of tack from Bird Of Prey's grittiness, with violin, piano, acoustic guitar, and hand percussion providing the background for a beautiful vocal performance of multi-layered harmonies. This is also one of the tracks that really highlights David's musical prowess; he is credited on his artist page as playing guitar, drums, keyboards, violin, harmonica, tambourine, and vocals. The interplay between the violin and piano parts on Primsore creates a wonderfully slinky, swaying melody.

Hell To Pay juxtaposes an upbeat honky-tonk Rock n Roll feel with some rather dark lyrics, telling of a relationship deteriorating due to a drug habit. The lyrics are often harsh, without hiding behind metaphor, not one minced word among them.

The next track, Stale, has a poppy Country rock feel to the music, with the verse vocals more spoken than sung, expressing distaste for mandates from recent times. David makes his opinion quite clear on this track. Track seven is a slow-moving ballad, Strange being performed on guitar and keys, and with softly-sung vocals. Whilst it's an easy song to listen to, Strange meanders along on its pleasant little journey without really going anywhere.

Which brings us to the final track of the album, The Grand McLisky Ball. I found this one to be a surprising choice to include with the other seven tracks. The intention seems to be to sound like an old Scottish folk song, which is very dissimilar to the other tracks. The other seven tracks are also stylistically different from one another, but with a sense of commonality. The Grand McLisky Ball stands alone. It's a whimsical fantasy about a dapper young gent attending a ball at the ancestral family home The tale becomes more bizarre and fantastical as it goes on, including a fight with zombies. David also chose to affect a Scottish accent for this song, which also added to the sense of being out of place with the other tracks.

Overall, it's clear that David is an accomplished songwriter and a talented musician, and if his track record is anything to go by, we'll no doubt be hearing from him again soon.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ ( 3 / 5 )

David writes and records songs.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for David Sutton

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