From Prestatyn in North Wales, Bau Cat, made up of Abby Butler, Jim Davies and Jack Wells, return with Traposphere, a raw, ridiculously catchy blast of garage rock with traces of new wave and danceable post-punk. There’s also that playful, slightly bonkers streak that brings The B-52s straight to mind.
The whole thing runs on a dry, twangy, obsessive guitar riff that is simple but impossible to shake off. The bass locks into the same pattern, the drums keep the beat tight and steady, and together they give the track a groove that never lets up. There’s plenty of eccentricity in there too, but the fuzz keeps it from turning into a retro pastiche. The guitars get heavier, dirtier and much more modern, while the repetitive riffs, danceable pulse and sly attitude also bring Wet Leg’s “Wet Dream” into the picture.
Abby Butler delivers every line with sarcasm, irony and plenty of cheek. There’s something of Rhian Teasdale’s deadpan delivery in there, but with a more eccentric edge that also points towards Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. Even when the guitars start to bite harder, Butler stays controlled, which only makes the questions and jabs hit harder.
Traposphere goes straight for the manosphere, its gurus, misogyny, misinformation and that messy mix of male insecurity and hero worship that somehow ends up blaming women for everything. Thankfully, Bau Cat don’t turn it into a lecture. They go for satire and absurdity instead. “Who are you meant to follow?” gets at the obsession with men selling the secret formula for becoming a “real man”, while “He put a predator in a picture frame / Next to the president that don’t know your name” takes the piss out of idolising powerful men who don’t even know you exist. The mantra “How to beat the devil? / You gotta be the devil” mocks the ridiculous idea that the answer is to become exactly like the people you claim to be fighting.
That contrast is what gives Traposphere so much bite. It’s funny, absurd and built to move to, while the subject itself is anything but. Bau Cat take misogyny, online paranoia and toxic masculinity and turn them into a filthy, brilliant garage banger. It’s packed with humour, energy and killer riffs. After hearing this, we just want more Bau Cat, and preferably very soon!
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