Cat Dowling: Animals review – quality songwriting with extra edge

"I wrote Animals during a busy period of my life when to find those rare moments to write music meant I had to be a thief elsewhere. But it was these stolen moments that gave me oxygen," says Cat Dowling.For those that might not be aware, Dowling is the kind of artist that disappears for a while (the thievery she speaks of is partially getting away from her responsibilities as a mother to her three children) and then returns with a new album. That the music is always quality is a given, but what invests Animals with an extra edge is Dowling's attention to the small but important stuff, the nitty-gritty details that too many other songwriters tend to miss or gloss over. One song, in particular – I Never Knew – asks the kind of questions it can very often be difficult to ask: "does she love you like I meant to," Dowling sings, "did you get married and have children… I hope your life's still exciting…" Other tracks such as All That I Can Do, I Wanna Dance, In the Dark, and Is This Love capture intimacies of writing songs when there is silence coming from the bedrooms. In turn, this transfers to the music, which here is presented in varying shades of pop-noir. Everything, of course, is lathered with Dowling's voice, which adds dreamy characteristics from start to end. catdowling.bandcamp.com