“The Traveling Wilburys of smart indie pop” –Glide Magazine
Fantastic Cat almost died. Each member also individually (but at separate times) faced devastating heartbreak, went to jail, got sober, almost quit music entirely, reconnected with a long-estranged family member, started making music again, hit rock bottom, had a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger who changed their perspective on life, almost quit music entirely a second time, reconciled their progressive, liberal ways with their strict, conservative upbringing, and embraced the raw power of their sexuality. It was quite a summer.
And sure, you may be reading this right now saying, “Wow, that kind of sounds like the band just basically jammed every album bio cliché they could think of into a single paragraph without anything to back it up in a pathetically transparent attempt to generate press coverage.” But that kind of cynical thinking is exactly why GQ owns Pitchfork now (or whatever the hell happened there). Anyway, it’s all real, and if it makes for the kind of inspirational headline that editors and advertisers alike both find highly clickable, then so be it.
You see, two years ago, Fantastic Cat was nothing more than a little-known rock band with a cult following (their fans were primarily members of Heaven’s Gate). That all changed with the release of their award-eligible debut, The Very Best Of Fantastic Cat, which garnered the kind of press you simply can’t make up. USA Today proclaimed, “We don’t have a music writer anymore,” while NPR received multiple copies of the album in the mail, and The New York Times’ Jon Pareles declared, “I’m currently out of the office and will respond when I return.”
Individually, each member of Fantastic Cat boasts their own impressive resume along with a litany of critical acclaim. Paste declared Don DiLego’s latest album a “stunner.” NPR said Anthony D’Amato “sings and writes in the tradition of Bruce Springsteen or Josh Ritter.” Rolling Stone called Brian Dunne’s new record “the sleeper album of the year” and praised Mike Montali’s band, Hollis Brown, as “the soundtrack for a late-night drive through the American heartland.” Collectively, though, the four transcend their respective roots, emerging as velvet-clad rock and roll cooperative far greater than the sum of its parts.
Today, Fantastic Cat is back and older than ever, taking America by storm with their newest album, Now That’s What I Call Fantastic Cat.
You may also like the following events from The Ark - Ann Arbor:
- This Saturday, 14th June, 08:00 pm, Rev Robert B Jones, Sr in Ann Arbor
- Next Monday, 16th June, 08:00 pm, Augustana in Ann Arbor
- Next Tuesday, 17th June, 08:00 pm, Skerryvore in Ann Arbor
Also check out other
Music events in Ann Arbor,
Entertainment events in Ann Arbor,
Arts events in Ann Arbor.
