Vel - Meow Fool!

Vel - Meow Fool!

Vel
Meow Fool!

Recently, I had the good fortune of catching Cleveland’s Vel at Annabell’s. After the thirty minutes of awesomeness that was his set, I had the even greater fortune to be given a copy of his CD, Meow, Fool!, by the man himself. Err, I mean cat…he only takes human form for recording and live performances. And who knew cats could make music this spectacular? From the TV on the Radio-esque vibe of “Moonlight” to the midtempo funk of “I Got That Urge”, Meow, Fool!’s twelve tracks cover a range of genres…as well as a range of off-the-wall topics. The fuzzy punk rock of “Cheerleaders from Mars Who Hate Men, But Love Oatmeal Raisin Cookies” is about, well Martian cheerleaders who dislike men but adore baked goods (and contains the best line on the record: “I don’t have no sweets/I just have funky beats”). “I Just Got Dissed By Eminem” is a straight-up hip-hop track about being dissed by the Detroit MC. “This One Time at Band Camp”, a high-speed, double bass-driven heavy metal attack, recalls a crazy summer of sex and mayhem. Some Wesley Willis comparisons may be imminent, but make no mistake, Vel’s ability to pack as many genres as, um…catly (?) possible into these twelve tracks is a far cry from the monotony of the late, great Chicagoan’s brand of rock & roll.

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