Ball of Wax 61 Songs: galenbaby – “Cats”

This pandemic is doing strange things to all of us. Our dear old friend Galen Disston, recording as galenbaby, appears to be coping by cuddling up with some synthesizers and channeling the inner lives of his cats via his own stunning voice. “Cats” is simple and eerily gorgeous: a couple synth parts loop and phase, while Galen repeats his feline refrain with a variety of melodies and emphases: “Did you hear me waiting at the front door? I was waiting for you.” One brief moment of multi-layered harmony opens up that “waiting for” moment in the middle of the song, but mostly it’s just one Galen, quietly and beautifully meandering, wondering, did we hear him waiting?

Note to Galen: If I hear you waiting at my front door, I will let you in. (Assuming you’re wearing a mask, of course.)

Editor’s note: This song was so nice, we reviewed it twice! Here’s Steven Scribner’s take:

Music with a cattitude! There are examples in other genres of course (Rossini’s operatic “Cat Quartet” is a particularly hilarious example) but here we have an indie-rock track that suggests felinity and seems to get into the cat’s mind as well. How so? Well, the weirdly-reverbed synth slinks and struts (“slithers” is entirely the wrong animal) like a mouser stalking your eardrums. The vocals (spare, with only occasional overdubbing) don’t meow, exactly, but there’s that quality of incessant yowling (subdued in this case) because, as always, you’re ignoring the tabby waiting not-so-patiently by the door. Of course, there’s not much lyrical content here: the cat’s waiting by the door, and you’re not letting him in (or out), so the cat’s waiting by the door, and you’re not letting him in (or out), so the cat’s waiting by the door and you’re still not letting him in (or out) and on it goes. But the cat’s probably not thinking about going in or out anyway, but merely about not being let through the door, so that’s all that needs to be said. Altogether this is a fun little tune. Two dewclaws up.