Ste McCabe's new album BAD KITTY is out NOW!

HT (woman Tingle) here: This week saw the launch of Ste McCabe's new album BAD KITTY .
Any readers who are not familiar with Ste's oeuvre should most certainly read on...

Ste describes himself as:

'..a one man band...politicised queer, feminist, working class bastard and I like to make people dance with my rantings' 

We bought our copies of the album at Ste's Manchester launch the other week and  have been playing it ever since. Be careful though! These tunes are catchy as hell and they're accompanied by sardonic, topical lyrics that are bound to raise a wry smile. No-one does withering sarcasm set to toe-tapping-punk-synth and guitar- electro-pop like Ste. I liked it so much I just made up a load of new hyphenated genres to describe it.

I've had 'Bargains Galore' swirling round in my mind for days now, and it's only a matter of time before I swan into my local branch of Tesco's singing 'I've been here before....' at the top of my voice, after which I might have a 'Harrowing Breakdown' ...

'Did You Really' and 'Accessorise' are two other tracks that have had me bursting into spontaneous singing and swaying about as I type. 'Accessorise' is deliciously contemptuous of naff middle class conformity and acquisitiveness with its refrain of 'buy an i-phone; have a baby'. It's 'Paintball's Coming Home' for the i-pod generation.

Even at their most jaunty, Ste's songs always have something to say; there's anger, bile and humour so dry it could slit your throat. In tracks such as 'Dining With Vultures'  and 'Club Landos'  there's real heartfelt melancholy in the lyrics and the vocals. 

Thankfully too, for those of us who do like to know what an artist is singing about, the lyrics are available in full when you buy a hard copy of the album. Ste is an angry poet, a storyteller; an electro punk folk-hero if you like. There's more than a few references to the banking scandal and the current economic crisis, and their effects on ordinary people, in these songs. If you want 'ooh baby aren't you cute' with your bubble gum then you'll have to shop elsewhere. Other tracks, such as '350 Quid' and 'The City Chambers', give voice to Ste's anger at the derisory punishments given to the perpetrators of hate crimes against the LGBT community, and the ignorance displayed by those in the halls of power when dealing with these issues. 

This is definitely one of those albums that you play to the end then stick straight back on again. If I ever set up a mad cat ladies' cheer leading troupe I promise you we'll do a cat juggling routine to this album...humanely.

You can buy the album from Cherryade Records where you can also find details of Ste's  Bad Kitty Tour.