“the Shades of Cats” is a very rich and mature album by the German act In My Rosary. The title already hints at the variety of the songs. Perhaps also at the various lives of the animal, because the last In My Rosary full-length album “Against the Grain” already dates back from 1997. In between a compilation album appeared, and a few months ago the mini album ‘First Exit’ came out, which was spread only at very small scale. In the booklet we find pictures of Dirk and Ralf in their childhood and of the present, to show what has become of them…
No less than six songs of ‘First Exit’ are present on the new album, so I was already familiar with a large part of the album. Ralf Jesek and Dirk Lakomy have added 8 new songs, amongst them the nice Siouxsie cover ‘Red Light’. The music on this album is of a high level, somewhere between wave and melancholic pop. Fine melodies, a good balance between keyboards and guitar sounds and a succeeded combination of ballads and more energetic tracks. Add to this a lot of feeling, melancholy and a sense of beauty. The music of In my Rosary, although not immune for modern influences, seems to have a timeless sound.
The tone is directly set with the intro song ‘When grasshoppers dream’, indeed very dreamlike and moody. ‘To end’ is more uptempo, with a little rough edge through the electric guitars and slightly distorted voice. ‘My guardian angel’ and ‘Your shimmering hare’ are beautiful warm ballads, comparable to the best ones they made in the past. ‘All we have’ is the most dancefloor orientated track of the album, with an uptempo beat and dominant gothic rock guitars, an infectious piece. Other highlights are the soft songs ‘Poor little love song’ and ‘Goodbye’, and the more catchy tracks ‘Confused by the time’ and ‘Towards Wonderland’.
A convincing return of In My Rosary!
