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Song of the Week : Brasso by King of Cats

King of Cats is the project of Brighton singer-songwriter Max Levy. A mixture of piercing vocals and fuzzy distortion I have chosen his track Brasso for my song of the week because of the profound feelings of happiness, sadness, regret and joy it throws at you all at once.

When I first heard Max play in 2014 at Jacob’s Antiques in Cardiff I was immediately taken aback by the honesty of his music. Signed to the Art Reeks label, a collaboration of Reeks of Effort (a Cardiff DIY label) and Art is Hard (a Bristol equivalent), in the past year and a half he has released two full length albums full of distortion that makes you feel as though you are simultaneously experiencing every moment of heartbreak you have come across in your life all at once, although you don’t hold any grudge against him for it.

Brasso is a great piece of showmanship when played live, usually from a keyboard on the floor of the stage. And although when I saw Max play it in Leeds recently he used a free synth app that he got off Google play as his transport situation didn’t allow him to bring his keyboard along, the song was as poignant as ever. The line “you make me sick of the competition” is one that really stands out and can be explained in Max’s own description of what he was trying to get across with this album. “Most of the songs have something to do with the fear of being trapped in a feeble body, dreams of a muscular form and the relationship between one’s environment, one’s body and one’s being an idiot. I don’t work out a lot, but I think about it often”.

Click on the album artwork to listen to the track over on Bandcamp.

Every Wednesday, one of our young contributors picks a piece of music that has meant something to them in the past seven days. Kicking things off was part time singer songwriter, gig promoter and student activist, Faisal Yousif.

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