Cheatahs
Cheatahs
February 10 2014 (Wichita)
8/10
Words: Alison Mack
Cheatahs' Twitter name being @cheatahssuck is probably the worst misnomer ever. There has been nothing yet about this London outfit to date that has 'sucked' at all; certainly this debut album holds up with the finest of first-time entrances. Right from their appearance back in 2012 with 'The Swan' - which appears again here, still sounding as gilded as it first did; gliding feather and beak on its bubblegum buzz over most other less gracious birds on the water - Cheatahs displayed all the best aspects of what might be seen as an 80s/90s mash-up of Dinosaur Jr., Nirvana, Teenage Fanclub and My Bloody Valentine: dynamic, full-on stuff to get your ears wrapped around.
The part shoegaze/part garage rock (although singer/guitarist Nathan Hewitt prefers the title 'ambient punk' to shoegaze) sound hones the best of both genres, from the trippy intro that runs head-on into the voracious and majestic guitar reverb of 'Geographic', through to the shimmering lustre of the ambient two-minute 'Kenworth' (lyrically taken from the name of the truck Hewitt's late father drove: the song depicts a last journey) and fuzzy crunch of 'Get Tight'. Slowed down tracks such as 'Mission Creep' provide a breathing space in between the likes of 'Northern Exposure', which, like 'The Swan', resorts to the poppier side of Cheatahs, firing on all cylinders that equates to nothing less than a sonic noise explosion.
Already having been called 'introspective' and 'retrospective' by some critics, let's just all get some 'perspective': 'Cheatahs' is one mighty fine debut album. Here's to more. Cheatahs don't suck.
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