BLOODCAT
Catcall$ 4 (director's Cut)
Saint Louis, United States
There is a new name and a new sound in post-punk hip-hop, pushing the boundaries of the genre, stepping into rock and grime and rash disco, BLOODCAT is making waves of sound that are unlike any other. Their latest album, ‘catcall$ 4 (director’s cut),’ is a through-and-through staple of the BLOODCAT sound. Massive tracks with drums that crash off stadium ceilings, paired with smaller tracks that sound subtle but will still blow out your car stereo if you crank it. Creativity is the word, BLOODCAT is stepping into a genre that was re-defined by artists like Post Malone in the 10s and has become crowded ever since. The only way to stand out is to do it right, and then do it so wrong it’s the new right. ‘catcall$ 4 (director’s cut)’ does just that, the album explores the extent of BLOODCAT’s sound so far and it will leave you drowning in a pool of cash, tone and bass.
There are various sounds on this album. They range from the classic 10s rap-hop to more experimental and even instrumental tracks later on in the album. We start where it all began, ‘charcuterie’. It's a song that sets an instrumental with a hook, grabs you in with the attitude and keeps you there with the melody and the lyrics. Throughout, the writing is astounding. It's fresh, it's fast and it's clever. Some of the lines on this album are so swish they’ll make you smile out of absurdity. They come so quickly and they are so inventive that it is a miracle BLOODCAT isn’t already a billboard name. From ‘picture purrfect’ to ‘vip’ and then moving to ‘bonzai’ the tone stays the same but the attitude grows. You get to learn the rhythms and the stylings of BLOODCAT, and just as you know them by heart, they break the rules and you relearn them all over again.
Hip-hop has many forms. This new one that BLOODCAT is moulding is dark, glittery and it's expressive in the most outlandish way possible. The attitude pushes the tracks, the lyrics sport money, cars, women, all the trappings of a rockstar flush with a seedy underground vibe. It's a new look into the world of indie rap and one that gets overlooked by the big names. Each song, ‘bankzy,’ ‘two-step pussy,’ ‘funnel cake’ all push this mantra. Live big, live fast, don’t look back, and rake. They hit you hard and you can’t dodge that flavour, it's golden and it's sour and it's unlike anything else in the music world. BLOODCAT is pushing into the big leagues and it is working.
The other side of BLOODCAT’s ‘catcall$ 4 (director’s cut)’ is that of the experimental sound. Adding dissonant chords that break the rhythm in ‘starface’ is the first inkling towards something deeper, something utterly new. Then the rabbit hole opens up beneath you with a bang. ‘catatonic’ is explosive and wide, clipped and dark. Following the melody, you lose it in a crowd of percussion, sound clips and noise. But it leads to an expansive sound that distils hip-hop into its contemporary parts and displays them before you. Attitude, money, melody, beat - rhyme about it. The deeper you go, the more distant the sound becomes from the norm. ‘sushi on my wrist’ and ‘cheeze’ finish off the album in a wondrous semi-instrumental fashion that feels like the perfect soundtrack for the dark-gold underground.
BLOODCAT has sidestepped regular, dodged the norm and escaped the trope. His sound is expressive, brash and wild. The more you listen, the more infatuated you become with the image, the lyrics and with the music. Murderously clever, to the point of elation.