Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Tomcat
Label: On Parole Productions
Release: year_month
Runtime: 41:00
Rating: 3.5/5
Right now there’s a pretty big gap in classic hard rock in Slovenia. Or rather, the most visible torchbearers of the genre are becoming younger bands that are only just racking up their live mileage. The old guard like Šank Rock, Chateu and the like couldn’t squeeze any quality material out of themselves anymore, their »reunions« fell flat on their faces, Mary Rose have been fiddling with their new record for ages, and who knows what will come out of the new Requiem lineup. So it’s only right that newer bands fill the space, and one of them is the Ljubljana/Kranj outfit Tomcat, who dropped their debut Bits n’ Pieces just over a week ago.
The album title is a fitting reflection of where the songs came from, the ones that found a home on this debut. The whole thing is made up of ten puzzle pieces, and a few of them are ones the band members brought over from their former bands (Cyclöne, Strock, Glenn Moore) or wrote before Tomcat even existed. The result is a varied mix of punchy hard rock anthems, detours into heavy metal and potent »power« ballads. Most likely that’s also why the quality swings quite a bit from track to track. But luckily the gap isn’t so deep that Tomcat can’t leap over it.
Tomcat take us through a good forty minutes of rock ‘n roll debauchery in exactly the style hinted at by the crumpled-up tomcat on the cover. Hangover is a bouncy, humorous hard rock tale of boozy nights, the consequence of which can be an unintentional run-in with members of the fairer sex who don’t watch Veet commercials and the like. As one of the “heavier” tracks on the album, Hangover works as a great teaser for what follows. Bits and pieces of the album are above all marked by strong guitar riffing, an authoritative, melodic and charismatic vocal, and the band’s knack for writing easygoing “summer” anthems that crawl into your ear like the aliens in Invasion of the Body Snatchers and whisper “Listen to Tomcat!” Bits n’ Pieces has a bit of the same effect as Rainbow. Not the Dio ones, but the Graham Bonnet era. Hawaiian shirt on, Ray-Bans pushed up on the forehead.
But Tomcat aren’t aimed only at party anthems, since they shine just as brightly, if not more, in the ballad moments of the record. These are first and foremost what gives the album its real variety and dynamics, striking an excellent balance between the faster, punchier tracks and the soulful, tender ones. The first ballad-flavored track, Goodbye, and later Follow You with its slightly rougher rhythms come close to the definition of a “power” ballad, only they’re not cheap in the slightest and are actually among the record’s best moments. These are moments where Denis Jambrošić nicely lays out his wide vocal range, which sounds mature and convincing despite his youth, and he also does great in the high registers and piercing “screams.” With effective vocal backing from the other members in the choruses, the songs come off pompous and mighty, and so they stick in your ears instantly. Besides the vocals, the consistently convincing guitar work of young Rok Barle deserves praise too: with simple but effective riffs and devilish solos, he proves he’s one of the more prolific guitarists of the younger generation here. The riffs and vocals blend together absolutely brilliantly in places, which you can hear especially well in the chorus of the punchy Purgatory. The rhythm section of Grega “Šujo” Šujica (bass) and Žiga Ravšelj (drums) is reliable in backing up the vocals and guitar, but I’d have liked a bit more explosiveness and punch from them. Especially during the guitar soloing, they can come off a little dry. Interestingly, the instrumental trio blends best with the vocals on the central ballad Wipe My Tears, which stands out for its gorgeous interplay of guitar and bass and another inspired vocal performance from Denis.
One of the more interesting moments on the record is the closing track Stevie, Annie and Me, which also marks the biggest departure from the rest of the material. This three-minute song has the strongest nostalgic feel of sixties and seventies classic rock, and with its catchiness it’s got serious potential for a radio “hit.” With lyrics about lost, innocent youth, it neatly sums up the essence of the whole album, and the surprising match between music and lyrics, with the feelings that run through both, reminds me of Stand By Me (not the Ben E. King song, but Stephen King’s novella The Body and its film adaptation Stand By Me).
Bits ‘n Pieces is without a doubt one of the contenders for “feel good” album of the year, though it’s still plagued by a few rookie, birthing-pain problems. Maybe the nature of how the songs came about is to blame, but about a third of the tracks kind of fade out into nothing or get lost among the better parts of the album. Because of that it’ll definitely be interesting to hear what Tomcat come up with next, especially in terms of writing as a band, as a whole. With Bits ‘n Pieces the guys have built a solid foundation which, thanks to the great performances, visible progress and strong potential, can only be the groundwork for a successful continuation of the story. Until then, the strong choruses will keep echoing in your head, hitting your ears like a Sidewinder missile fired from an F-14 Tomcat straight up a MiG’s rear end.
Lineup
Denis Jambrošić – vocals
Gregor Šujica – bass, backing vocals
Žiga Ravšelj – drums
Rok Barle – guitar, backing vocals
Production
Beny Kic and Matej Sušnik
Track list
1. Hangover
2. Goodbye
3. Dirty Old Mind
4. Follow You
5. Girl In Leather
6. Edge of the Blade
7. Purgatory
8. Wipe My Tears
9. Riders
10. Stevie, Annie and Me
