Stranger Cat Shows Wild Side With New Album

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Stranger Cat (Big Hassle)

Finally ready to let the cat out of the bag, Brooklyn indie duo Stranger Cat will release its first album this April. Photo: Big Hassle

Brooklyn’s Stranger Cat is a new band, but its singer is no stranger to indie rock. Before hooking up with instrumentalist and co-producer Sven Britt for this new project, Cat Martino logged time as a collaborator with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Van Etten, the Shins and Son Lux—she also recorded a full-length album Yr Not Alone back in 2011. Now Martino and Britt are readying the release of their debut record, In the Wilderness, which was successfully funded recently on Pledge Music.

So far, Stranger Cat has already previewed some of its exquisite and emotionally-layered electronic pop sound on a couple of tracks, including this dazzling song called Sirens:

In addition to its original material, Stranger has also performed cover songs in unique ways. For example, here’s a ballad-y take on Sia’s smash hit Chandelier:

…as well as this stark and torchy yet still affecting rendition of The Cure’s Lovesong:

According to Stranger Cat’s bio, Martino and Britt’s project began in 2012 during a winter in the Sierra Foothills where they wrote and recorded songs. I initially assumed that the band’s moniker came naturally from Martino’s first name—but it turns out it was due to a stray feline who frequently visited the place where the duo were making music. Obviously that cat was onto something before everyone else caught on. And so will you at the band’s show this Saturday at the Knitting Factory, a month before In the Wilderness hits the stores.

Stranger Cat will be playing Saturday, March 7, at the Knitting Factory, 361 Metropolitan Ave., Brooklyn, 8 p.m., $10. The duo’s new album will be out on April 14 via Joyful Noise Recordings.

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