Reviews for WHOLE LOTTA GODDAMN

By Mark Guarino, Daily Herald Music Critic
"The year can’t end without a look at some of the top shelf music that has come out of Chicago in recent months. Here are six worth your adoration."
This power trio is one of Chicago’s unrecognized treasures. Cats & Jammers is a trusted name in subversive garage rock of which this album delivers with its churning guitars, chunky bass, overlapping vocals and energy overdrive. With 12 songs in just 35 minutes, the album times out at economy and, like early XTC, which the band clearly emulates, it never lacks melodies. While brevity is key, singer and songwriter Scott Anthony writes lyrics that demand a longer pause. The songs skip from mocking self-pity ("if only ‘heartbreak’ were a cause of death/there’d be a sharp decline of suicide") to aliens, government propaganda and female tennis legends. A tribute to Wicker Park’s notorious 4 a.m. dive (Closing Estelle’s Again) sums up their charm: going so hard for broke, it hurts the next morning.

From Read Magazine
"Jangly power pop so cute you will eat a hamster. I... don't know what that means. But these guys are great. Upbeat dorkrock that reminds me of a simpler, happier TMBG. Listen to this and explode in joygasms."

From Michael Toland, High Bias
"Cats & Jammers merrily combine philosophy with absurdity on Whole Lotta Goddamn, the Chicago trio's fourth album. Like a recombination of They Might Be Giants and the Monkees fueled by mushrooms, the band waxes deep ("Will I Die Young?"), romantic ("One Thousand Kisses," "Lips That I Miss"), comic ("Evil Alien Hoax," "Women's Tennis Obsession") and just plain silly ("Salvador Dali Lama," the remarkably passionate "Stabitty Stabitty Stab Stab Stab"). Fans of Austin's late, great Javelin Boot will find much to love here. Cleanly recorded, enthusiastically performed, catchy as a flypaper net, wholelottagoddamn celebrates the spurned pop geek in all of us."

From Culture Bunker
"C&J are an eclectic mix of mod riffing, new wave harmonies and smacking you upside your funny bone. The bass and drums pile on some rhythmic interplay on their best songs that wouldn't be out of place on a song by The Jam, but frontman Scott Anthony's vocals are more in the Mitch Easter-psychedelic sound. "Evil Alien Hoax" is a case in point, and it even adds some echoed vocals at the tail to give you the feeling you're coming on (at last). "Salvador Dali Lama" is another smart riffed song with total mod stylings and some high-reaching vocals, and then right after the chorus the song boils over with some raygun synthesizer. The best part of C&J is the stiff armed guitar riffs that are supported by some ropy bass playing. Sometimes I'm not sure the vocals really go with this sound, but maybe it's because I'm used to Paul Weller's broken-nose singing style. What they give you, though, is a pack of tight riffs and some hilarious song topics."

From Not Lame
Chicago`s Cats * Jammers combines 60`s garage pop with frenetic 70`s skinny tie power pop and punk energy and 80`s indie new wave. They blend the sounds and spirit of a lot of very cool artists like early The Jam, The Knack, early Wire, LMNOP, Suicide Commandoes(bonus points if you know these guys, one of the great unheralded 70`s punk bands from the first wave), The Buzzcocks, They Might Be Giants and Firehose. Wacky? Unusual? Odd? Crucial? You friggin` bet on all counts and what`s more, it does not let up for one single second!

From BabySue
"Combining the sound of The Buzzcocks with early Young Fresh Fellows, the fellows in Chicago's Cats & Jammers keep getting better and better. Scott Anthony, Addison Monroe, and Paul Medrano play simple three piece rock music that is highly reminiscent of bands from the early to mid-1980s. The songs are short and to-the-point and feature wonderfully insightful lyrics that are often hilarious. The band's melodies and hooks are what ultimately rule, however...as songs are the strongest link here. Whole Lotta Goddamn features smart, effervescent tunes that would make Scott McCaughey proud. The guys in this band play with such sincere youthful enthusiasm and excitement that it's almost impossible not to love them. Fun memorable cuts include "Rock and Roll Invasion," "Will I Die Young?", "Propaganda Slaves," and "Stabitty Stabitty Stab Stab Stab." (Rating: 5/6)

From James McQuiston, Editor, NeuFutur and InterStitial Magazines
"There are so many nods to the earlier nineties version of pop punk music in Cats and Jammers' first track on "Whole Lotta Goddamn" that one almost feels as if they are listening to "Dookie" all over again. The only thing that really distinguishes Cats and Jammers from the rest of the acts out there is more of an appreciation for the sixties rock that would eventually filter down to pop punk via The Ramones. Further tracks, such as "Will I Die Young?" seem to have a veneer to them that looks much more towards alt-rock than the pop punk opening to "Whole Lotta Goddamn".

The one major tie that both these styles of tracks have is that Cats and Jammers infuse them with a tremendously catchy poppiness that will keep resonating in listeners' ears well after the disc ends. A middle ground is finally reached with tracks like "Evil Alien Hoax", which still snaps with a punk bite but is in a realm completely its own. The echoing vocals present during "Evil Alien Hoax" gives Cats & Jammers a body during the track that pushes them even closer to greatness. At thirty five minutes, Cats & Jammers push through their agenda in record time; if someone blinks, they are going to be sadly disappointed. The band's maturity allows them to say volumes in each and every song; when the band throws in something completely unexpected (the odd backing noises during "Propaganda Slaves"), this only increases their stock in my eyes. What results during "Whole Lotta Goddamn" is a band that traipses easily through a number of linked style in the creation of a different style that never fails to stay interesting.

The simple fact that Cats & Jammers can start with a very Knack like sound on their "Lips That I Miss", throw in a little Husker Du and Pinhead Gunpowder, and still infuse the track with their own essence (specifically through Scott's vocals) should be impressive enough to shock listeners into purchasing this album. Almost ten years have passed since the band coalesced into the entity that one hears on "Whole Lotta Goddamn"; with first "Propose Toast" and then "Whole Lotta Goddamn", one has to think that Cats & Jammers' time is now. Here's to hoping their star starts shooting upward like they deserve, and that the average music fan will gain an appreciation for Cats & Jammers that is long overdue."

M.C. Bell, MoviePoopShoot.com
Question for you: did you know that these guys have 3 other albums and one of them actually shows up on iTunes? Yeah, me either. I can honestly say that I haven’t been this surprised since I found out that Venus Williams was a woman. Wanna know something even more surprising? These guys are pretty damn good. Scratch that. . .VERY damn good. In fact, they may be one of the better bands that you have never heard of. Taking more than subtle cues from They Might Be Giants, these 3 chick magnets craft catchy tunes infused with clever and humorous lyrics like “She can beat me with her backhand stroke/And volley the balls in her hand." (from “Women’s Tennis Obsession”). Hailing from Chicago, Cats & Jammers, consisting of Scott Anthony on guitar, Paul Medrano on bass and Addison Monroe spanking the drums, describe their sound as a combination of “60’s garage-pop with frenetic 70’s punk energy and 80’s new wave.” I describe their sound more along the lines of a "punked-up" Weezer. Either way, Wholelottagoddam is a great disc and, with any luck, will be the one that finally breaks the band. Other disc highlights: “Salvador Dali Lama,” “Will I Die Young” and one of the best murder-themed power ballads ever, “Stabbity Stabitty Stab Stab Stab.” Nice work, guys.

Reviews for PROPOSE TOAST
From Beverly Paterson, Twist and Shake
Though Cats and Jammers never fail to collect reams of critical accolades, they remain hidden deep within the recesses of the underground. And that's a crying shame because they certainly deserve to be heard by a wider audience. A new Cats and Jammers album is slated to hit the shops this fall, but until that occurs, be sure to pick up a copy of "Propose Toast," which contains select cuts from past efforts, along with a pair of previously unreleased tracks. Motivated by a sheer love of the music, the band tears through their spunky songs as if their lives depended on it. Like The Kinks, The Seeds and The Ramones before them, Cats and Jammers aren't weighed down by excess baggage. Their sound is lean yet powerful. Pumping rhythms, coupled with a few basic chords result in tunes that are immediate, interesting and invigorating. Not only is the tenor playful, but the lyrics are embedded with humor. "People Are Stupid," "Good As Dead" and "White People Can't Dance" effectively capture the band's cynical nature. But you know they're simply kidding around and having loads of fun while doing so. "Follower," "Get Your Ya Ya's Out" and "Mannequin" are further winners included on "Propose Toast," as they bounce and bop with acres of catchy hooks that are impossible to ignore. Excellent, excellent, excellent.

From Kena Sosa, Alt.Culture Guide
What's in a name? Inside jokes, that's what. Cats + Jammers is either a band that did not realize their name has been long since taken by a blues trio also from Chicago, or really wanted to be asked to tell the story of the "cat piss-soaked floors" they often slept on while traveling from show to show. Either way, it's catchy, and just another reason I remain a dog person.

Propose Toast is a collection of songs from the band's three previous releases, Hooray For Everything, After School Special and Get Wet. There are three different drummers on this album, which indicates that, like most groups, nearly 10 years of 'togetherness' means exchanging some puzzle pieces that just don't fit.

Getting to the point though, I only had to listen to the first three notes to tell that one of the major influences for Cats + Jammers, if not the only one (whether they realize it or not), is the Ramones. Three chord tracks bind this baby, along with the fun-of-a-gun lyrics.

The first song, "Get Your Ya-Ya's Out" is self-explanatory. You don't have to tell me twice. Just let me at it, and then when someone busts in the room without knocking, I'll say it is for 'research purposes.' On the soundtrack of life, this is the happy-go-lucky background music to the time when you got your first car and just cruised. You got your ya-ya's out, but hopefully kept your hoo-hoo in. If you didn't by now, you are saving for the next generation's college fund. Also included here are the Ramones' coveted 'Gabba gabba hey's' but without the 'gabba.' The beat is exactly the same. Gabba's are apparently now out of season.

Number three, "Lollipop Lies," that is what Lollipop Thugs do. A local band in Dallas called Lucy Loves Schroeder, would seem a perfectly matched influence on this song. Sassy, but with a twist of angst in the words. It is not easy to tell though, since the song itself is still pretty upbeat.

Danggit! Song seven, "People Are Stupid," is a tiddly-wink aggressive. These guys do not like people making jokes about each other. Still, it is hard to grasp the feeling of frustration Jammers spell out when the music is just so darned positive and bouncy.

"White People Can't Dance" is a great piece that also qualifies as a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is not a song that is very danceable, thus if you are white, and try to dance to it, you will surely stumble and fall, leaving the rest of the population to conclude that indeed white people cannot dance. I should not be so harsh, because I am white. Nonetheless, I give them kudos for honesty. "White people can't dance, but they at least take a chance." You tell it, brother. 'E' for effort.

Overall, I did bop from the span of the first tune here to the last. I hope that next time Cats + Jammers will branch out a little bit, because the "if you can't beat the Ramones, join them" philosophy is one that does not work well in music. Or was that "if you can't beat on the brat with a baseball bat, beat on each other?" Have your fun, but be sure to set yourselves musically a little more apart from the rest.

From Bob Remington, Zipperhead
Kick fuckin ass CD!!!!! Propose Toast fuckin KICKS FUCKIN ASS!!!!! I am listening to it on my IPOD. YOU JUST MADE THE BOBBY REMINGTON LIST...People are Stupid is brilliant . Spitball is actully one flying in the air... as you listen to it. Lollipop Lies has mucho Joe Jackson and XTC,who by the way are my faviorite bands. This song flows real nice. Follower will never ,ever get old. It ROCKS. I like the bchorus and love the drums in the chorus no cymbs... A lot of drummers ain't in tune to that. Rejection is so great.. pick up XTC "GO TOO (or TO) " ( if you can find it) as well as "White Music". C of Fashion is huge and I am trying to play the guitar to it but it is real hard to strum down like that... what the fuck? That Rocks.Good as Dead ... I wish I wrote that tune.......The lyrics are so with the song it is scary. I am a very huge fan of C&J, anything I can do for the band let me know. I am there. Hell I would even be willing to be the clapper in the C&J'rs band. What I like the most about Cat's & Jammers is that Joe Jackson headyness in the vocals . You don't have to be perfect in the vocals, and your voice make sense. Your voice I think would sell. You got the voice brother. Plus I love your guitar playing .It's hard to do. There is a small scent of Nirvana over everything which seems to have much longevity on the "Air" . Cameo is on and I am wondering if you guys could come up with anything more briliant and the answer is no.... what are you listening too Scott? What are your influenses? The ending to Cameo is FUCKIN TRIPPY >>> SRIGHT ON!!! The amp sounds like a Silverface Fender Princeton? am there there?????? What do you want????????????????????????????

From Mackenzie Pause, Impact Press
If Davey Jones from The Monkees was listed as a member of this band, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. This is pop punk at its poppiest. This is a collection of tunes from their first 3 discs. A 'Best Of' for a band you've probably never heard of. And that's too bad. This is funny music that is horribly infectious and will bore into your skull and lay eggs and make you want to listen to it over and over. It is good stuff.

From Valentine, Agouti Music
Cats and Jammers started playing shows in 1997 and toured extensively before going on hiatus. They recorded three albums, releasing two. Propose Toast is a greatest hits album, compiling music from each of their three recording sessions. This album was meant to help them get back into things.

Listening to this, my first thoughts were that it sounded very twee. Their Web site calls them garage-pop-indie-bubblegum-power-pop. That’s two “pops.” I think there is way too much jangle for this to be power-pop. The vocals definitely fit the twee-pop style. The lyrics are all pretty witty as well. Very hook-filled with nice backups. I really like this stuff. When I think bubblegum, I think music that is good for a few listens but then loses its flavor. I wouldn’t call this bubblegum. It retains the flavor after multiple listens.

Although the liner notes list different artists for various tracks -- these are culled from three different recording sessions, after all -- the whole thing is still pretty consistent. I felt like the songs flowed well from one to the other and made for a good album. Some bands change a lot from album to album but not Cats and Jammers. In this case, it is a good thing.

Or maybe not. They did languish in relative obscurity their entire careers (according to their bio). I don’t know why. They are really good. This stuff seems like the staple of college stations in the Northwest. Maybe it’s because they’re from Chicago. I don’t know what college stations there play.

So this stuff is really good: jangly guitars, hook-filled melodies that are easy to sing along with, witty lyrics and lots of energy. The production works really well for this stuff, and everything is performed well. Cats and Jammers are coming out with a new release. You can also download their third recording from their download store. They have lots of free music on their website. I recommend checking it out if you are into twee, even if it isn't exactly twee.

From Beverly Durfee, Grand Junction Sentinel
Ready for a trip through adolescence and teen adrenalin at the speed of sound? Then prepare yourself for Cats + Jammers pure punk journey through songs like "Spitball," "Zodiac Girl," "Not Gay" and "Mannequin."

All through the CD - a speedy 17 numbers - I could imagine myself sitting in a lawn chair in front of an open garage door, listening to friends trying to play with my mind. The music is fast and best played loud, the lyrics are mostly testosterone-driven, and I was never quite sure when they were playing with my mind and when they were serious. I like that.

One song that really rocked me was "Jesus Was A Jew." This is unapologetic bash of televangelists, pop preachers, pedophiles hiding behind the cloth and hypocritical organized religion in general. I first thought - wow, this could be really offensive - but listening through it made it clear that the title wasn't merely for its shock value. Great job on this one, guys.

One tune I'm not so sure about is "Good As Dead." Made me feel kinda creepy in a not-so-good way. It's a song for all these "broken-hearted guys" but it's never really clear if "she's good as dead" as in a figure of speech or an actual state of lifelessness. Don't like it, but can't fault the music or delivery.

I'm pretty sure there's at least one statement per song that's offensive to someone in some way. Offensive, but not hateful. Again, I like that. "Propose Toast" is well played and produced, while still jaggedy and punked. Even more cool - the drummer Addison Monroe is a Grand Junction native who attended Mesa State College. Sweet that he was able to overcome his background and reach for those pointy little stars.

I proclaim Cats + Jammers pure fun. Find "Propose Toast" and a few more CDs, which I'm sure will be just as irreverent and danceable, at www.catsandjammers.net/.

From BabySue
Coming from the Young Fresh Fellows school of rock, the fellows in Cats + Jammers are one fun little trio. After taking a three year break, the band is now back in the studio recording a new album. In the meantime, they have released a best of collection entitled Propose Toast. The CD includes five tracks each from the band's previous CDs plus a new track ("Get Your Ya-Ya's Out") and a previously unreleased tune ("What Do You Want?"). Simple, catchy, hummable, and uplifting, these guys are making music that isn't taxing and difficult. Their main goal seems to be to just rock out and have fun. Neat upbeat tracks include "Spitball," "People Are Stupid," "Not Gay," "Good As Dead," and "White People Can't Dance." (Rating: 4++++) -- Babysue

From Neufutur
When the promotional sheet for Cats + Jammers says that they “have been lingering in a state of obscurity since 1997”, they are not joking. This may just be the only greatest hits album of a band I’ve never even heard of, much less heard. While the music collected on “Propose Toast” was spread over the last decade, the surprising thing about Cats + Jammers is that the formula that they work with has changed little, if at all in that period. There is a pop-thread that is present through each and every song on “Propose Toast”, something that calls together acts as diverse as They Might Be Giants, Matthew Sweet, Beck, and even the sixties brand of rock (Beatles, Monkees).

Of particular note during this disc is “Mannequin”, a track that has Cats + Jammers experimenting with a Spartan attitude that is perilously close to the three-chord, straight-forward sound of The Ramones. The purpose and drive to this track is paralleled closely in “Connoisseurs of Fashion”, a track that derivates from the Ramones-like sound to take up something more similar to Green Day. The strongest, most memorable tracks on “Propose Toast” are those that drop the slightly-dreamy, mid-nineties alternative rock and show a harder edge to the band.

“Polygamy” is yet another solid hit for Cats + Jammers, using a slightly-snotty twinge and an imperfect-sounding mastering to make a greater appeal to listeners. There are no artificial walls enacted between the audience and Cats + Jammers during this track; by this, one can finally start to understand why the band felt like a greatest hits collection was necessary. Structurally, the beginning to “White People Can’t Dance” lifts the guitar riff from The Clash’s “Clampdown”, but instead of just being a re-tooled version of the original, the bratty vocals of Scott create something new and tongue-in-cheek. Incorporating an intense and impressively-arranged bass line into the track, the zenith of Cats + Jammers’ eight years as a band might just be this track. The penultimate track to “Propose Toast”, “Cameo” really takes a multiple-part harmony a la Pansy Division, coupling it with the ever-present bass line of tracks like “White People Can’t Dance” and gradually breaks all components down to chaos as admirably as any noise act. This album is a perfect introduction to Cats + Jammers, and it was released at a perfect time – the band’s fourth album is coming out in the near future.

From Steve Elliott, Shindig Magazine
Their 17-song 'greatest hits' collection of sorts from this Chicago trio features five songs each from their first three albums plus, one new song and an unreleased tune. I'd say the band are part-garage/power pop with elements of Green Day-like modern punk energy with teenage-like themes. The springy late '70s Kinks/Ramones hybrid, 'Get Your Ya-Ya's Out' is perhaps my fave song off the whole album and has the most potential for being an actual single. A lot of comical themes are abound throughout the CD like 'Spitball' and 'White People Can't Dance'. 'Lollipop Lies' comes on like a lost Elastica b-side. What they lack in strong lead vocals, they make up for in catchy, short, two minute garagey pop tunes. Staccato driven 'Rejection' has a definite late '70s new wave sound going for it. 'Mannequin' sounds a bit like The Jam sped up but, with funny lyrics about mannequin love. 'Not Gay' is straight ahead rock about reaffirming one's heterosexuality after waking up next to a guy. Strange but funny. The lone previously unreleased song, 'What Do You Want?' comes across like a Jonathan Richmond & The Modern Lovers' tune and sounds more developed than some of the other tunes, thus making it a better song. So, if you're into modern garagey power pop/punk with Green Day elements then you might enjoy Cats & Jammers.

From Zeitgeist
...a strange hybrid of the Buzzcocks and the Lemonheads. 'Get Your Ya-Ya's Out', 'Zodiac Girl' and 'Not Gay' show they have the potential to be a great singles band...

General Reviews

From Jim Kopeny, Chicagoist
Tonight marks the triumphant return of two local groups long given up for dead. Both Monkey Paw and Cats And Jammers have come out of hibernation to prove to the people that rock and/or roll truly never dies. Monkey Paw got slobbered all over by The Trib earlier today so we will waste no more time on them, other than to affirm that they are indeed a mighty fine live act, and we will turn our attention to Cats And Jammers.

Cats And Jammers is the brainchild of Scott Anthony and it is a group that openly embraces the wide-eyed and wild-toothed wonder of ‘60s garage pop. Please don’t get us wrong and run screaming at the mere mention of the (nowadays) terribly overused “garage” nomenclature since Chicagoist assures you that in this case it is well placed. The group practices pop in its simplest form as the songs bounce around and constantly threaten to fall apart or out of tune or out of rhythm or any number of the other unknowns that make real rock and/or roll so goldanged fun.

Some folks may wonder why a band this entertaining went underground for the last four. Some may wonder just why they chose this moment in time to make a comeback. Some folks ask an awful lot of questions when they should just be enjoying themselves. Chicagoist believes that’s one of the secrets to Cats And Jammers enduring viability. Both Cats And Jammers ands Monkey Paw return to the stage tonight at Schubas.

Reviews for AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL

From Beverly Paterson, Twist and Shake
Cats & Jammers adhere to the policy that three chords and an attitude is all a band really needs in order to make good rock and roll. The trio’s latest disc pursues the punk pop idiom with unflagging energy, elaborated by twitchy rhythms, bratty vocals and uplifting choruses. Lead singer Scott Anthony is a shrewd songwriter, as his jumpy little ditties are architected of stinging hooks that sink right in and lyrics that tend to pertain to the confused and kinky side of romance. For example, "Saddle On" smolders with heated lust, "Mannequin" is indeed a loving ode to a mannequin, and "Zodiac Girl" takes a kooky stroll down astrology lane. Yep, Cats & Jammers have a sense of humor alright, which is further underscored by "White People Can’t Dance." However, the band’s music is very danceable, so no matter what color your skin is, prepare to burn off some calories when listening to "After School Special" because you’ll definitely be tempted to move your feet and shake your booty once it hits the CD player!"

From Tom Semioli, Amplifier
"Not since the Monkees has any band had as infectious a theme song as "We’re Cats and Jammers." True, they’re as goofy as the name overtly suggests, but the band does provide the definitive answer to the late-great Frank Zappa’s perennial question "can there be humor in music?" The answer is yes, Cats & Jammers. Heavily influenced by the new wave explosion that initially took its cue from 1960’s garage rock, this Chicago trio is all hooks, attitude, and energy. If you’re looking for lyrical mysticism or spiritual enlightenment, this disc is not your cup of tea. With tracks like "Lollipop Lies", "The Cuddle Song" and "Dating Game" the name of the game is instant gratification. However, social commentary does come in the form of "White People Can’t Dance" which makes fun of folks who are "born without soul, kinetically impaired" with chants of "white people can’t dance, but they take a chance." Silliness abounds in the stellar "Mannequin", wherein the singer professes his love for an anatomically correct plastic fantastic lover, and a paean to a nerd’s sexual desires entitled "Saddle On". The boys also pay homage to the real godfather of power-punk, Ray Davies, with a splendid rendition of "I Need You". Singer Scott Anthony squeezes every bit of emotion out of his limited range, and bassist Brad Hunter and drummer Addison could have backed Paul Weller in the Jam any day of the week. May Cats & Jammers stay forever young and restless."

From Bill Holmes, Pop Matters
"A three piece band with a name like Cats And Jammers who want to be TV heroes and rock stars? My God, doesn’t anyone take rock and roll seriously anymore? I mean, what would Sting say if he saw this? (Okay, Bill, enough questions, this isn’t an interview.)

Actually, Cats And Jammers is a very energetic garage band pumping out bubblegum punk songs complete with requisite themes and subjects. They have a theme song ("We’re Cats And Jammers") which is much better than that Love Boat song, plus songs about mannequins and The Dating Game. There are bad Yuppies and Zodiac Girls and white people incapable of grooving on the dance floor.
"It takes a few drinks To get the nerve To think that nobody can notice That a straight line isn’t a curve."
They also do a hellacious cover of The Kinks "I Need You", and their percussive intro is so perfect for the energy of that song that Ray should adopt it. Overall, their music is simple but catchy, the vocals and playing good enough, and the songs short, funny and sweet. You could probably grab two friends, lock yourselves in the basement and come out in a month with the ability to play these songs as well as they do. Ah, but could you write them? They claim to have a television show, and maybe they do, who knows. What they do have are several clips included on this CDROM (IBM only, apparently) that range from funny interviews to videos that the early Replacements would have made (good thing, too, because the eleven songs clock in at only twenty-three minutes!). They have spunk (I like spunk). And a bass guitar sound to die for.
I would rate this below Splitsville’s Ultrasound and The Vandalias’ Buzz Bomb, similar efforts from more accomplished artists. But if either or both of those records caught your ear, you’ll no doubt enjoy After School Special."

From Mark Guarino, Daily Herald
"The sophomore album from Chicago trio Cats & Jammers logs in a little under 24 minutes - a rip-off to some, but really, it makes perfect sense. If this album was lengthened even a bit, the band’s frenetic energy would unravel. What this band knows is how to pack the most stupid fun and prickly sharp guitar hooks inside the tightest time. "After School Special" could well have been released in 1980, smack dab in the New Wave era. C&J’s economical and frenzied, upbeat songs reflect early era Joe Jackson, XTC or Television, with singer/guitarist Scott Anthony’s snotty, warped singing dead-on to Jackson and Andy Partridge. Not all his songs are as sharply crafted as "Look Sharp" or "Statue of Liberty," but they do follow the same rules of spastic playing. Anthony’s prone to playing jittery staccato guitar lines ("Lollipop Lies") while Brad Hunter’s chunky bass ("The Cuddle Song") and Addison’s funky drum fills ("Mannequin") are manic and playful. But the best thing about C&J here and also when they perform live is their perfect balance of anger and humor. That includes "Mannequin" ("she don’t talk too much/she don’t tell me how I should feel") and "Smile Now" which, yes, celebrates the deaths of yuppies and shallow celebrities. They bring to the Chicago rock scene what the usual mope bands don’t: It’s spelled F-U-N."

From Jeff, Delusions of Adequacy
"Does anyone out there know about Too Much Joy? They have to be one of the most overlooked power-pop bands, even with five full-length albums and more. A large portion of that underappreciation is likely due to their desire to be funny and clever, especially in their early music. The mainstream market chuckles at funny but doesn’t embrace it. Yet they have a very devoted following. Cats & Jammers reminds me completely of Too Much Joy, especially in TMJ’s early years. Like Too Much Joy, Cats & Jammers embrace humor. With songs like "Mannequin," "White People Can’t Dance," "The Cuddle Song," and so on, you can tell you’re going to get a dose of attitude-heavy humor and fun. Like TMJ’s early work, this is power-pop pure and simple. It’s not especially original, primarily three-chord power-pop blasts. And with 11 songs but under 24 minutes of music, you know it’s just short bursts of incredible catchy pop songs. And, like Too Much Joy, it’s bound to be your guilty pleasure. Too Much Joy had a theme song, and so do Cats & Jammers. There’s goes, "We’re Cats & Jammers, and we’re here to say, have a super happy day!" Isn’t that a pleasant way to start an album? "Zodiac Girl" is one of the catchiest songs on the album, but then I guess they’re all catchy. "Zodiac Girl, tell me my horoscope and I’ll do anything!" There’s lots of audible exclamation points on this album, by the way. "Lollipop Lies" is probably one of the most original songs on the album, with some crisp guitar and some catchy bass lines, punctuated by little blasts of guitar. "The Cuddle Song" is more like early punk-pop, with a little bit more angst and attitude thrown into the vocal blend. There’s a Kink-esque poppy feel to this song too, which is fitting because the band does a version of Ray Davies’ "I Need You." And you can’t help but feel that punch of that punk-pop energy in "Smile Now," complete with its "Uh! Uh-huh!" Mannequin song ("I’m in love with a mannequin! She don’t talk too much, she don’t tell me how I should feel!") is one of the catchiest and most fun songs on the album, bound to get you wishing for your own mannequin to love. "White People Can’t Dance" has more of that Kinks feel about it (and singer Scott Anthony even sounds like TMJ’s Tim Quirk), and "Run and Hide" finishes things off with a bass-heavy dose of pure power-pop. Ok, first don’t expect musical geniuses here. These guys are quirky and fun and playing three-chord power pop, plain and simple. But these songs are clever and damn catchy, and I guarantee you’ll be singing them at 3 in the morning. I expect that, like Too Much Joy, this band will develop its own loyal following who just can’t resist the Cats & Jammers charm. For added pleasure, check out the extra CD stuff, like videos, other songs, a little game, and more. For extra added pleasure, check out the Cats & Jammers singles club, where you get a new C&J song every month!"

From Jesse Croom, Contingency Plan
"I’d like to get straight to the point and say that Cats & Jammers are one of the more entertaining bands rolling around Chicago these days. After School Special, the band’s second album, is the musical equivalent of an Austin Powers movie. You don’t listen to this when you want to be intellectually challenged or give a lot of thought to the purpose of your existence. Cats & Jammers play FUN rock ‘n roll that you listen to when you want to have a good time, usually aided by a case of beer or two, or any other beverage of choice. When was the last time you heard a song about WKRP in Cincinnati ("Theme Song") or a realistic song about dating ("Dating Game")? It’s probably been a long time. Cats & Jammers combine jangley guitars with sing-a-long lyrics that will surely make you smile. Come on, live a little. Check out "White People Can’t Dance", "Lollipop Lies" and "Smile Now". Actually, once you hear "Smile Now" you probably won’t be able to go to Lincoln Park without chuckling to yourself. After you check out After School Special go see Cats & Jammers live. These guys are even more fun when beer is involved." --Jesse Croom, Contigency Plan

From Jared Julius, Jitter Magazine
Cats & Jammers don’t care if you don’t like their music or not, thought they wouldn’t understand why not. For them, it’s all about having fun, being whimsical and silly, and mocking the mores of rock and roll. After School Special begins with "Theme Song (We’re Cats & Jammers)", which heralds the inception of their very own, decidedly male counterpart to the Josie And the Pussycats TV show. Do you see the feline correlation? The layers pile up fast, so you gotta keep on top of ‘em. Scott Anthony, lead Cat/Jammer, really just wants to find love, if only for convenience’s sake - he’s only showing us his vulnerability and opening us to his shortcomings, which is very sensitive. In a textbook illustration of metaphor, "Saddle On" pleads: "I want to tie you down I want to saddle on for a ride I want to sample your flavors and I want to go deep inside." He must like ice cream!! Showing that these Cats & Jammers boys aren’t above a little schadenfreude, they can laugh heartily at the misfortunes of the beautiful in "Smile Now": "I’m gonna smile now, You’re so deflated / I’m gonna smile now, You’re gonna die". Hey, this is great fun! Keeping it bare-boned and "real" is what Cats & Jammers are all about; even when they are making fun and employing sarcasm, they do it in a "real" way, garnering the street cred and celebrity that this band enjoys. What can guitars, bass and drums get you? Plenty! Just ask Cats & Jammers, or let them tell it to you straight on the tongue-and-cheek tip of After School Special"

From Roctober
"These locals have quite the go-getter attitude...they just won’t quit! New records, countless gigs, tours, these cats can’t stop jamming! Despite response being kinda underwhelming from the press and the hipster crowds, this new album pretty much explains why they keep doing it. The satisfaction they must feel upon playback of these power pop-sicles would hold over anyone until the public caught up, which should be soon. Seriously fun and funny stuff, including a band theme song and an homage to the fine film "Mannequin"

From Jim Kopeny, UIC Inferno
"This band grows on you. The first time you hear them you are tempted to dismiss them as simplistic. The second time you encounter their definite ‘60 ‘s style pop freneticism you find your toes tapping. Ultimately they win you over through their sheer exuberance and pop smarts. Each song contains just around three chords but no song sounds the same. Scott Anthony’s lyrics bite with pessimism while you feel his characters struggling to look on the brighter side of life. It’s to Anthony’s credit that you find yourself pulling for his sad sacks even as you hop from foot to foot around the room to the groovy beats."

From Splendid e-zine
"Remember how that "Buddy Holly" song by Weezer was kind of fun the first 18 gazillion times you heard it, but then it got kind of old, then it annoyed the hell out of you, and then after you hadn’t heard it for 17 years it was sort of okay again when you heard it on the radio? Well Cats & Jammers seems to have taken an overdose of the magic formula that the Weezer boys were drinking when they wrote "Buddy Holly." Cutesy name and packaging: check. Cutesy lyrics and song titles: check. Cutesy harmonies: check. Cutesy punky-pop guitar songs: check. These guys have cute coming out of their pie-holes. If you’re in the market for cutesy, you can’t get much cuter than "The Cuddle Song" or "Theme Song (We’re Cats and Jammers)" or "Mannequin" (in which the singer falls in love with a mannequin. Cute!). They’ve really got the poppy thing down, too -- there’s no denying the sing-along-ability of these tunes. All this cuteness can wear thin pretty quickly, and although some almost dark undercurrents (i.e. cute songs about leaving your lover) help keep things from getting too unidimensional, After School Special ends up being limited by its own cuteness. After School Special also includes a multimedia component offering songs, videos and images of the band." -- ib, Splendid E-Zine

Reviews for HURRAY FOR EVERYTHING

From Jared Julius, Jitter Magazine
"Hurray for Cats & Jammers. This is a well-earned nod to one righteous pop band. Unlike the proliferation of Beach Boys wannabe wankers, Cats & Jammers continues the great pop tradition by partaking of it and then moving on to express their own musical voice. They utilize pop in similar, fruitful fashion to groups like the Loud Family, Zumpano, the Wellwater Conspiracy and Olivia Tremor Control. Great groups all with creativity to burn and talent to hand out at Christmas. As easy as they make it sound, the pop of Cats & Jammers takes a sublte talent to pull off so effectively. Actually it is not a matter of merely pulling it off; rather, it is a matter of getting it right and knowing that they got it right because they knew that they would get it right before they did it. Call it a confidence indicative of good and long musical experience. This is good stuff."

From Joe Warminsky III, Morning Call (Daily DC-area paper)
"If Hurray For Everything is any indication of what’s lurking in Chicago’s music scene, Beluga Records could be sitting on something pretty special. Cats frontman Scott Anthony has one of those snotty/nerdy voices and a guitar style that’s pure garage-rock skittishness, making him a viable heir to Atlanta’s Subsonics (if in sound only) and D.C.’s long-retired indie flagship band Unrest. There’s a smart Buzzcocks feel too, with Anthony channeling Pete Shelley’s ability to make sexual embarassment seem bitterly funny (on "Not Gay" he wakes up hungover in a guy’s bed).

From George Zahora, Splendid e-zine
Other than having a name that’ll give your parents (or grandparents) a giggle, Cats & Jammers ably encapsulate 35 years of pop rock history in a single fun-n-frothy volume. There’s unrequited love ("My Love") rendered with vivid lyrical irony, good love turned bad ("Good As Dead"), social criticism ("People are Stupid"), awkward moments ("Not Gay") and many more nuggets of human interaction, all provided in a jangly pop style that only a Grinch couldn’t love. As its title suggests, Hurray For Everything is not a CD that’s going to send you scrambling for a prozac fix after every spin -- you’ll be hard-pressed to listen to its darkest moments without some degree of grinnage."

From Fauzia Arain, Pop Culture Detox
"The lead singer of Cats & Jammers not only does double duty in the band, playing guitar while laying his relatively high-pitched dramatic vocals into the pop mix, but Scott Anthony puts his literary talents to work as the author and publisher of a work of fiction entitled, Trickster, available through Beluga Records for $8.00. As the CD booklet states, you may want to check out the book if you find yourself digging Anthony’s lyrics on the 13 tracks found on Hurray for Everything. The lyrics range from subjects like violent crime scenes to the rut of office life to the pop album staple of failing, dwindling or momentarily soaring relationships. Anthony’s social commentary on pop culture and society’s ills, while nothing shiny and revolutionary, remain both relative and applicable. This album will probably get your foot tapping, but be careful not to stomp on some of the other CDs of the same genre that have overflowed from the rack onto the floor."

From Holly Day, Flow Online
"Behind the façade of cheerful happy vocals and preppy, poppy beats reminiscent of ‘60s bubblegum rock are songs about displacement, being a corporate tool, rejection and confusion -- in "Not Gay," the singer wonders why he just woke up with a naked man in bad with him even though he’s straight, while the same singer, in "Hourglass," wakes up in a bed full of suicide notes. It’s an interesting dichotomy -- if you’re not listening to the lyrics and just hearing the songs, this stuff’s amazingly upbeat, but if you’re listening to the lyrics, these songs are pretty bleak. The chemistry between the musicians in this is just amazing. They sound like they’re really enjoying themselves here, and for some reason, I really appreciate that."

From Bob Powers, G21
"Listening to Cats & Jammers’ new album, "Hurray for Everything" (Beluga Records) is like a fast slide back to the ‘60s, when pop rock began to give way to the punksters, whose sharper edges enervated a musical style that was beginning to wear out. These young men from Chicago might remind you of the glory days of the B52’s melded into a strange new sound that includes some of the edgy fun made popular in more recent times by Green Day. There’s even a bit of the Ramones, in that Cats & Jammers perform three-minute extravaganzas that made a point with sharply designed lyrics and perform with a raucous jolt of energy. At times it sounds as if the band swigged ample amounts of Mountain Dew during their hours in the studio. The band combines a happy note of innocence that makes their sometimes darker lyrics take on a sinister cloak. The main man for Cats & Jammers is guitarist/vocalist Scott Anthony, who also writes all the songs. The album notes make a point that Anthony has an interest in writing fiction, as shown in his new book of fiction called "Trickster Tales." The notes include instructions on how to obtain your own copy. Here’s a band that definitely is widening its horizons beyond the confines of the Windy City. In November, they toured the East Coast, including gigs in Boston, Providence, and New York City. Watch for them in your town. They’re damned good fun."

From Superchunk Steve, Mutant Renegade
"Boom-a-chaka, boom-a-chaka, boom-a-chaka. Very fast, tiny guitars racing over a thumping bass and spastic snare pops. At times I swear I’m listening to the Femmes, then the Turtles, then it’s the eighties and I’m listening to Adam Ant. But wait! There’s something that sounds like Radiohead. I don’t know what to make of it really. It’s certainly not complicated, pretty straightforward pop, but I can’t decide if I like it or not. The middle of the CD is the better part. I think I do like Hour Glass and Slave. The only thing I can really say for sure is, boom-a-chaka, boom-a-chaka, boom-a-chaka.

From Chris True, All-Music Guide
"A happy album for cynical people. What Cats and Jammers lack in originality, they make up in spirit. Taking cues from straight forward guitar pop and bands like Firehose, Cats have made an album that is impossible not to jump around to. Not necessarily deep, but that doesn’t matter; it’s a solid slab of fun."