Prayers For An Orange Cat
Self-Released, 2024
9/10
Listen to Prayers For An Orange Cat
The Virginia native Stephen Jacques pens a unique album of sincere, alt-rock love songs, where folk, post-punk and alt-country ideas are present and appreciated.
The soft and dreamy “Sometimes Love Is Not Enough” starts the listen with Jacques’ heartfelt singing alongside graceful keys and crisp drums, and “Prayers For An Orange Cat” follows with a bit of jangle, where prog-friendly guitars are met with a scrappy demeanor.
Arriving at the halfway point, “Fisherman Of Ireland” welcomes well timed backing female vocals to the more rugged, rock fueled landscape, while the acoustic strummer “Unsaid Poetry” builds into a powerful and slow burning moment of grit and intimacy.
Landing near the end, the best track, “Do You Have A Jet”, is plenty melodic and frisky via the flowing keys, hard hitting drums and firm vocals, and “Law Man River’s Edge” exits with a hint of dreaminess via the poetic storytelling and meticulous electric guitar acrobatics.
The legendary Steve Albini turned the knobs on this one, and contributions from Jason Narducy (bass, acoustic, electric guitars), Chris Siebold (lap steel, acoustic, electric guitars), Vijay Tellis-Nayak (piano, keyboards) and Gerald Dowd (drums, percussion) won’t go unnoticed, either, as Jacques makes for an accomplished body of work.
Travels well with: Martin Zellar- Head West; Chris Murphy- The Road And The Stars