Cat’s Eyes - Treasure House

The question of which Harry Potter house Faris Badwan and partner-in-crime Rachel Zeffira would belong to has been circling around this reviewer’s head for about twenty minutes, dear reader, as both intro number and title track ‘Treasure House’ and the twinkly ‘Everything Moves Towards The Sun’ have us thinking of Hogwarts (it’s probably hints of the pair’s recent foray in to film soundtracks combined with our terrible IMDB view count, tbh).

‘Treasure House’ is - as the name suggests - a luscious, rich selection of otherworldly tracks, disparate in nature but still oddly cohesive. And it’s as timeless as that dreamy world JK Rowling created. It doesn’t stray far from their ‘60s weirdo pop roots - there are plenty of Phil Spector drum rhythms, for example, just as Rachel’s versatile voice is often layered in the sort of ways Joe Meek would picture in his head: soaring, melancholic - and creepy in the best possible way.

‘Be Careful Where You Park Your Car’ is an obvious standout, being pure stomping retro girl-group, and there’s more than a hint of Faris’ day job in the driving, guitar-led ‘Standoff’. ‘We’ll Be Waiting’ is dreamy to the extreme, while single ‘Chameleon Queen’ is classic songwriting in a Beatles-y vein (it’s the brass). Still no sorting hat, though.