Artist of the Week – Sol Cat

sol-cat

Since their formation in 2012, the suave Nashville pop groove band with the cool name, Sol Cat, has built up a regional following in their home state of Tennessee and beyond.

But next month, the band, which has toured with The Weeks, Reptar, Rubble Bucket and Turbo Fruits, among others, will play their biggest gig yet at one of the most popular music festivals in North America – Bonnaroo.

That’s a big deal for any band, especially considering that most festival goers will hear the band for the first time when Sol Cat takes the stage on June 14th in Manchester – practically in their backyard. The band won a BMI-sponsored ‘Road to Bonnaroo’ battle of the bands in February, after coming in second in the competition for three years in a row.

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Combining melodic, yet understated, guitar riffs with grooving keys, pop infusions, sensual vocals, and smooth rhythmic beats, Sol Cat have created, in a way, their own unique sound. It’s a tricky task to categorize it, which is actually refreshing. Songs like “Body Like That” and “Bread on the Table,” from the band’s Body Like That EP, set to drop on May 12th, are sure to sway drunk and stoned crowds at Bonnaroo. The band of 20-somethings makes no bones about their beer-soaked, pot smoked party-fueled lifestyle.

Some critics, and band members, have alluded to the fact that Sol Cat could be more well known by now if they hadn’t struggled with their sonic identity over the past few years and frequent line-up changes. In fact, Sol Cat had cycled through three bassists before deciding to go forward without a bass player; at least for the immediate future.

Since it’s not so easy to put into words, we turned to the band to describe their sound. Guitarist Johny Fisher list Sol Cat’s style as a “combination of psychedelic, jungle and groovesrock,” elaborating that “there isn’t a one perfect effigy to reference for Sol Cat…it’s at once some old school 70’s groove and some new-now atmospheric bumping that you would find just as at ease in a beer-strewn pool barn as you would [at] a moonlit festival where everyone is covered in Day-Glo.”

Fisher said the band’s top musical influences include Toro Y Moi, Tame Impala, The Strokes and The Doors. Sol Cat dropped their self-titled debut album in February 2013, a three-track EP, Welcome to Cowabunga that following October and are set to drop their new EP on Tuesday, followed with a sophomore full-length later this year. They’ve also performed at SXSW and will perform at the Austin City Limits Festival in the fall.

The other band members include vocalist Brett Hammann; Jeremy Clark on keys; Jaan Cohen on guitar; Tom Meyers on drums. With the exception of Meyers, the four other members of Sol Cat met while attending Belmont University.

“Body Like That“Sol Cat from Body Like That EP – May 12th

“Bread on the Table“Sol Cat from Body Like That EP

Here are a couple of tracks from their self-titled debut LP:

“Dirty Glasses“Sol Cat from Sol Cat (via YouTube)

Sol Cat official website