Take it as a promise, and a patent fact: “All Borders Are Porous to Cats.â€Â ’s 7th full-length LP finds the collective reset and reinvigorated, behind the lyrics of Jack Terricloth, apparent possessor of the punk rock fountain of everlasting style and rage. The album follows Cat in the Hat (no relation), an undocumented refugee who is framed for a crime and requires the assistance of a ragtag gang of miscreants, academics, orchestra-caliber musicians, and radical insurgents—sometimes art does in fact imitate life!
First single “Freedom is a Wilderness†was fitting first available on an a compilation benefitting Chelsea Manning upon her initial release. The band is uncertain if New Romantic 2 Tone ska is an available generic distinction, but they damn well gave it a shot, and the haunting echo of “who woulda thought?†reminds the listener that for political prisoners like Manning, freedom is a relative concept at best. Follow-up “Nightmares†improbably adds to the list of genres the band attempts, offering a horn and gang vocal driven shuffle somewhere between Fela Kuti and Elvis Costello. The remainder of the album sees the band at its most expansive musically—covering everything from Bowie-esque ballads to Balkan punk stomps—and inflammatory lyrically, with tales of romance, righteous indignation, and resistance.
The album's release comes in tandem with the release of accompanying book "One Smashed Window for Every Divided Soul," an illustrated combination tour journal and narrative exploration of Cat and his travails. The book acts as a companion piece to the album's story, sifting through archival documents and fabulist accounts of the band's East Coast tour of 2017.
Available on CD & LP - Black Vinyl
