Songs from the Sea CC THE CAT
Influenced by the dazzling coastal waterways of the Gold Coast region, CC THE CAT’s second full length album is a reflective ambience for all occasions. This tranquil yet tantalising collection of reggae-soul pays tribute to the heart’s perils and paradisiacal palpitations. Kindly-charismatic, writer and singer ‘CC-Claire Cottone’ walks the convergence zone between indie-alternative and mainstream worlds with ease. This CD is as much at home on commercial radio as it is on Bay FM or 4ZZZ, and it is always beautiful to see fans and friends pitching in to support the lifeline of a band with the contemporary success of crowd-funding.
The confidently-joyous trumpets raise the curtains on the CD; with Send Me a Message you are gifted a return to Jamaican reggae, with Claire’s sister Julia Rose’s grooving, rolling bass lines, and Mikael Strand’s triumphant trombone, the listener is engulfed by such nostalgic endeavour. Uplifting SKA songs like Dream Boy and Rock My World ‘Two-Step’ somewhere between Madness and Love Clinic. Both songs have gained success in the Airit’s Top Ten national charts, while hitting No. 1 on Brisbane’s popular 4ZZZ radio. The single Dream Boy also reaped rewards by winning 2014 North Coast (NSW) Entertainment Industry Dolphin Awards for ‘Best Reggae Track’.
Rejoicing in life are songs like Live Your Dream, interwoven melody with well-orchestrated symbiotic harmonies, mischievous bass and cheeky sax. But the show-stopper is a sad, just begging-to be-destined for an ABC TV drama theme song. When I first heard it played on Byron’s-Bay FM- I knew it wouldn’t be the last; with its drifting-dreamlike chorus Missing is surely one of those hauntingly alluring tunes that yearn to be heard time and time again. Sullen and subtle; sombre yet comforting, CC manages to be a retrospective voice on this CD. Finding herself at ease, she allows those close to her know that time has now tamed the ice-to-the-heart of romance’s torment. The final song Free echoes this enchantment.
Smooth and genuine, CC feathers SADE’s No Ordinary Love beautifully. Sultry; sassy, and with a cheerful whack of kind-hearted honesty, CC THE CAT’s ‘Songs from the Sea’ should find its milk and saucer among every home’s CD collection.