Guttercats “Follow Your Instinct”

We guess we did follow our instincts because the name Guttercats is one that instantly appeals to our sleaze rock roots. However, this is no retro hair metal band. Indeed, their roots are appropriately in the far more sophisticated city of Paris rather than L.A.
Indeed, once you hear opener “A Trip Down Memory Lane”, you know that rather than being a CC Deville or Motley Crue band (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with that!) it’s much more a case of Johnny Thunders or Lords Of The New Church. “Sweet Little Sister” and “I Promise” are sleazy rockers but more in a dark alleys and danger kind of way. Certainly, the ghost of Mr Thunders is present on the slower, more acoustic tracks like “I Wonder” and “Don’t Cry On My Shoulder”.

There is a far more gothic feel to numbers like “(Beyond The Limits) Before I Die” and the epic sprawl of “Follow Your Instincts”. Although they almost move in to a more Smiths or The Cure sound with “Down In The Hole”.

There’s a greater sense of ‘maturity’ than you would normally get with this kind of ‘wasted’ sound. There’s still a gutter rock feel to “No Remorse No Regrets” and “On The Road” but it’s a more downbeat tone that we associate with bands like The Dead Boys.

Sleaze/gutter rock always gets a pretty raw deal in the music world. It’s often degraded to the lowest common denominator ie the abundance of gimmicky glam metal bands. This is the opposite to the glitter of that sound. It takes the tone of goth but, thankfully, adds a more rock n roll sound. It’s a timely reminder that even the sleaze rock genre has different shades and types. This is a darker and more menacing style, where clothes come in either black …. or black!!