Cattle - Band Review

I was unsure of what to expect when I first listened to Leeds based 3-piece ‘Cattle’. The band label themselves as “noise rock” and, after extensive listening, I agree that this is certainly the most accurate way to describe them.

Considering that the band produced all aspects of the EP themselves, the sound quality is incredible. The drums sound just like a live drum set; which can be a very difficult sound to reproduce, without spending thousands upon thousands of pounds on the best recording equipment. And, in terms of recording quality, the EP would not sound out of place among professional recordings. My only criticism in terms of production is that sometimes the vocals are a bit too quiet - but that's me being picky.

However, things are different in terms of the material that has been recorded for the EP. There is no doubt that the music that Cattle play certainly caters to an acquired taste – unfortunately, it's not really my cup of tea. The first connection that was made in my head, when listening to the self-titled EP, is how similar the vocals are to the audio in the viral YouTube video 'Goats Yelling like Humans'. Though Cattle have done very well to produce the tracks so that they still have a reasonable amount of texture (even though the only instruments used are drums and bass guitar) such a bare line up of instruments does limit the diversity of the sound of the songs. All four tracks are very repetitive and I found myself mistaking them for one long song. I must say though, that Cattle is comprised of two very skilled musicians; the time signature switches are amazing, they sound difficult but are executed perfectly.

I think that Cattle could be very popular were their music to be exposed to the right crowd. As I have before mentioned, they cater to an acquired taste. Though I found it hard to get into the EP, I can appreciate the skill of the musicians and the spectacular production of the band’s debut release. I look forward to hearing Cattle's sound mature with time and seeing what they produce in years to come.

Riff Rating: R R (Two R's)

Review by Connor Langham.