Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Tomcat
Label: On Parole Productions
Release: year_month
Runtime: 43:00
Rating: 4/5
Not long after the release of their debut Bits n’ Pieces, Tomcat’s lineup also fell apart, well, into bits and pieces. A little over a year ago the band lost vocalist Denis Jambrošić, drummer Žiga Ravšelj and guitarists Rok Barle and Greg Markovski, leaving founder Grega »Šujo« Šujica as the lone tomcat. After the first lineup crumbled, the latter wasn’t entirely sure whether the story of the hard ‘n’ heavy tomcat would go on, but since a cat always lands on its feet, Šujo soon found new kindred spirits, and after a year of hard work and a successful Adrifund campaign, the band’s second studio album, Something’s Coming On Wrong, is about to drop.
If the debut Bits n’ Pieces was plagued by quite a bit of inconsistency, and it seemed the young band simply wanted to show too much on their first album, everything they were capable of, and got caught in a trap of genre mismatch, then Something’s Coming On Wrong is a whole different story. Tomcat are still genre-diverse and still weave their styles together heavily, but this time the mix is far better balanced, and the red thread (though not in terms of quality!) gets slightly frayed only by the standout funk excursion Smell the Funk. One last word on genres and then enough pigeonholing – at their core Tomcat remain a potent mix of classic hard rock (done in a modern way) and heavy metal, with the band occasionally allowing themselves detours into grunge, blues and funk waters. If those detours on the debut only amounted to half board, this time the listener gets the full all-inclusive treatment!
Despite the newcomers being younger (on paper, anyway), the band sounds more mature and more experienced this time around. The song arrangements are vastly improved, the riffs and solos stronger, the choruses punchy and devilishly catchy, and the songs themselves simply noticeably better than before. Tomcat remain quite diverse on their second studio album too, only this time the tracks hang together far more coherently, even with the relatively frequent genre jumps. So on Something’s Coming On Wrong the tomcats serve up everything from mid-tempo rock punches (Is it a Sin, actually a reworked version of the single Adrenalin), to heavy barrages (Rosemary, with probably the best chorus on the album, one that just won’t get out of your head), to pure funk (the logically titled Smell the Funk), which surprisingly blends right in with the rest of the tracks and more modern-sounding grunge attacks (above all the closing call for revolution and rebellion, Time to Rise). And that the guys have real energy and creative flow is finally shown by two skillfully executed, soulful ballads, the melancholic One Left and the gorgeous blues excursion Last Letter, which gets an extra lift from an almost gospel-sounding female choir.
The whole of Something’s Coming On Wrong is rounded off by a fitting sound that’s natural, organic and warm, letting both the instruments and the vocals shine. The vocals are something of the core of the album, as Žiga’s excellent performance makes sure the songs lodge in your ears with no trouble, though it’s true he wouldn’t have pulled it off so easily without a solid, superbly working instrumental foundation. Something’s Coming On Wrong is thus a real step in the right direction for Tomcat, which makes it all the more cheering that the third album is already almost entirely written. Despite the album’s title, this time absolutely nothing went wrong for Tomcat.
Tomcat will officially release and present Something’s Coming on Wrong on January 20, 2017, at the 15th anniversary of the On Parole label at Orto bar!
Lineup
Žiga Krasnič – vocals
Žbun – rhythm guitar
Izzy – lead guitar
Šujo – bass
Bizi – drums
Production
Žiga Ravšelj and Alex Volasko
Tracklist
1. Enemy
2. Come Down
3. Is it a Sin
4. One Left
5. Rosemary
6. May-Day
7. Smell the Funk
8. Carnium
9. Last Letter
10. Time to Rise
