Eric Schroeder
Cat’s Game
Enabler No. 6 Records
Cat’s Game, the latest album from Eric Schroeder, follows his previous LP, Turned On the Stereo, on which he revealed the emotional angst that he catharizes with Cat’s Game. Cat’s Game has the raw guts reminiscent of Tom Petty.
Produced by Rob Schnapf and engineered by Matt Scheussler, musicians on the album include Scheussler (bass), Jake Richter (drums), and Aidan Finn on keyboards, with Schroeder providing vocals and guitar.
Cat’s Game grew out of a period of writer’s block, which Schroeder overpowered by writing a song a day, essentially ramming through the barrier until his muse reappeared. When she did, the songs came fast and furious.
Comprising 10 tracks, highlights on Cat’s Game include “High And Low,” a Southern rock-flavored tune with a delicious whirring feel. Tough, gleaming guitars imbue the harmonics with colors at once dirty and polished. The twangy guitar solo, with its Johnny Cash-like simplicity, is oh-so effective.
“Emily,” a torch song about a past lover, displays feelings of intense yearning that still linger. “And I long to be where the colors tease / And her love concedes, my sweet Emily / In a drunken speech like the preachers preach / Just within her reach, my sweet Emily.”
The intro to “Leave Me Sleeping” features dark, resonant guitars that roll into an intense, almost frenetic harmonic flow akin to a waking nightmare, where what’s occurring is perplexing.
A personal favorite because of its gritty guitars and pushing rhythm, “Slipstream” finds Schroeder’s vocals evoking visceral vulnerability. In contrast, the final track, “The Road To Recovery,” offers grungy, shoegaze-like guitars that ebb and rise yet always remain thick and crunchy. A strident guitar solo cuts through the muddy wall of sound, infusing the melody with edgy, tarnished tones.
Schroeder’s voice lifts Cat’s Game out of the realm of just another good album to the level of great album. At times, his voice summons up memories of Tom Petty, a bit tight and nasal. At other times, it’s deeper and more affecting, expressing an impulsive, reckless quality.
On Cat’s Game, Eric Schroeder exposes an emotional sensitivity via intuitive soundscapes that are compelling and authentic.
