Meet Adult Cat

Romilly L-C

Bringing together the familiar sounds of the early 2000s British indie rock scene and the twang of American 60s/70s country rock while simultaneously providing novelty to the music scene, ‘Adult Cat’ is a genre-defying band with a lot to offer, highlighting the indispensability of live music. 

This relatively new band comprises four young guys: Danny, Joe, Sam, and Theo. Three of whom (Danny, Joe, and Sam) are brothers from Dorset. 

Having seen them perform earlier in the year at the Camden Eye they sparked my interest and I recently got the pleasure of chatting with them to see what they’re about. 

The brothers claim their musical interest was heavily influenced by their parents' music taste growing up, listening to CDs in the car: the Michael Jackson anthology, the Ramones and Dookie by Green Day, they remember the ‘Now That's What I Call…’ CDs which father Christmas would bring them every year, all of which I believe are reflected now in their relatively eclectic taste and translates in their own diverse sound (Michael Jackson maybe less so). While the brothers were collectively influenced throughout their childhood, it wasn't until lockdown 2020 when they were living together that they combined their interests and skills to create music together, and the band formed naturally through that, “I guess we’re in a band now” they remember thinking.

Theo is a more recent addition to the band. Before, brothers and frontmen, Danny and Joe rotated between vocals and guitar and playing drums within the set - it appears that with the addition of Theo, they find things are running a lot smoother. While he's a convenient addition, he clearly adds much more than dexterity to the band, “he’s also just really good”. 

When asked about their creative process the band pulled “a little plug” to their recent single ‘Shush Your Lips’. This new single, released on the 28th of March, having been written at the end of last year, is one of the first full collaborations of theirs. With the boys all in different cities, they would usually come up with ideas individually and present them to the band to flesh out and work on, however, this new single was devised from the band hanging out, “saying things and going, oo that's a lyric”. When asked about the meaning behind this song, Joe was quick to insist that the lyrics are “all complete rubbish”.

The boys recount that the first lyric came from something Sam (the bassist and youngest of the brothers) had said ‘I forget which thumb I sucked when I was younger’ and that he supposed the ‘proof was in the pudding’, as one thumb is now longer than the other. from further interrogation it seemed to me there is in fact slightly more to the song, “it's about growing up” Danny added, it’s about a lot of things and nothing essentially. 

The chorus

‘Shush your lips, God has childbearing hips’, is a “fuck you to whoever”, says Joe. 

Whether it be something about nothing or a reflection of youth and young adulthood, it’s catchy nonetheless. You can stream it on Spotify and see for yourself. So I strongly suggest that you do. The band have also recently announced they are in the process of releasing two new songs - Rosalie and Red Rooster. Having heard these live, I can vouch that you’ll want to check these out if you're into the more raw and acoustic sounds. 

Genre is a bit of a tricky one when it comes to ‘Adult Cat’, who can’t quite be pinned down, “We get slagged off for it all the time”, Joe says. The boys claim they do a country alt blend, but regardless of labels, they are still the same four people with the same four instruments and that as long as the music is good, it doesn’t matter how you define it or what you call it. Adult Cat is inspired by various bands and musicians ranging from The Libertines to Gram Parsons, yet emphasises their desire for originality. They recognise there are a lot of musicians chasing the same sound and trying to emulate The Libertines or current popular guitar-heavy bands like Fontaines D.C, which they’re trying to avoid. “Bring back wanting to be in the strokes”, Danny says. On their website they define their genre as a ‘country-punk blend of garage rock’ which I can’t exactly argue with; it has it all. 

Everything with this band comes back to live performance, an integral part of their ethos, “Play live, do good, be good, have fun and be a little chaotic, bring back the fuckery of the olden days it’s all got a little bit too polished.”, Danny concludes “and snapping strings is fine”, Joe adds (seemingly more for his own reassurance by the sounds of his uncertainty)

The boys spoke about how live performance is, to them, the main drive and the best part about the music. It's the atmosphere that is created, the performance, and all that around it that they value so highly and it clearly shows. The band had much praise for the small venues at which they’ve performed, with the Bermondsey Social Club and the Troubadour being their favourite so far. It was clear to me they feel strongly about the lively atmosphere created by such intimate venues, and for an audience member it has the same effect, it allows a deeper connection to the music especially being surrounded by others who feel equally as passionate about it. They spoke about a desire to play The George Tavern and The Old Dispensary and were excited to announce that they are playing Trailer Park stage at Latitude festival this year, as well as Friends of Friends festival. 

It’s definitely worth looking to catch them live, and you can keep up to date with their upcoming gigs on their Instagram @adult_cat. In the meantime, you can listen on all streaming platforms.