Mari Kattman
Year of the Katt
Metropolis Records
Mari Kattman has been a steady presence in the broader industrial and darkwave community for the better part of the last decade or so, first as a striking guest vocalist with artists such as Comaduster, iVardensphere and Neuroticfish, as well as half of Helix with her partner Tom Shear, and as a solo act in her own rite. While the Boston chanteuse has a few self-released albums in her discography, Year of the Katt is the culmination of the dark, club-ready sound she’s been exploring over the last few years of EPs and singles. In practice the record splits the difference between Kattman’s considerable vocal charisma and power, and her growth as a songwriter and producer.
To that point, the entirety of Year of the Katt is written, produced, and performed by Kattman, and consequently plays to her strengths. One of her gifts has always been in conveying her personality through her performance, and the material here certainly leans into that, often quite literally. Opener “Typical Girl” paints a portrait of Kattman through candid admissions (“I’m a difficult person”) and taunting self-examination (“Who’s gonna love you now?”), and the deployment of an affected and effective sneer that makes a character of her own self-doubt. Similarly, “Anemia” takes its cues from her experiences with the titular condition, heightened and then turned outwards, slinky and inviting with a healthy dose of laidback menace that complements its big detuned synth hook and medium tempo rhythm programming. The theme of self-examination carries culminates nicely on closer “Pain” where Kattman gives thanks to adversity as a motivator and teacher, matching it up to a surprising but not unwelcome assembly of body-music ad-libs, a tasteful guitar solo, and one of her most straightforward and catchy arrangements.
The clubbable trad-scene mix of synthpop, EBM and dark electronics that informs Year of the Katt is a natural fit for Kattman, and she shows a strong understanding of how to put songs in the style together. While there are plenty of fun touches in the design of the record (the use of morse code and modem samples as rhythmic devices is clever, as is the throwback futurepop construction of “Take Myself Back”), the palette is kept minimal and effective, allowing lots of space for the vocals. Perhaps that’s a function of how often Kattman uses a cool, breathy delivery, sometimes ramping to higher registers, as on “Take”, or into her forceful but smooth mezzo range, like “Little Bullet Girl” and “PunisHER”. If anything the album is light on moments where she goes to full strength, although one has to assume that’s a conscious decision for the sake of consistency in mood and style across the record.
With that in mind, Year of the Katt ends up being something of a coming out party for Mari Kattman as a writer and producer. It’s less-focused on showing off her already established bonafides as a vocalist, and more about her ever advancing skills in song and albumcraft, a feat that it handily achieves.
