Monocle Chronicles casts an eye over band’s first three years

Intensely Staring Cats put out their first LP recording The Monocle Chronicles earlier this month, and have had a positively rocking reception since then. Lead vocalist Helen Moore, who describes herself as the new Simon and Garfunkle combined (I think she was just joking), is to my humble ears more of a Gwen Stefani kind of front for the band, as her contribution to The Monocle Chronicles clearly defines.

Certainly not an outfit that takes itself too seriously, “The Cats” have put out a collection of songs that reflects their energy, uniqueness and personality you see on stage during their live performances.

Rhythm guitar and keyboardist Paddy is the grumpy southerner who fled Croydon for the Mediterranean and got on the wrong train.

He said: “Much as we’d like people to think this collection is a deeply thought-out conceptual narrative exploring the history of world leaders who only used half a pair of glasses, in fact the name, and most of the songs, came about by accident, and even the writers have trouble explain what they quite mean.

“Musically it’s all somewhere between pop-punk-garage-rock-folk (just not jazz or blues. Or folk). The point, we hope, is that the tunes are good.”

Sam Leach - who reportedly eats shredded guitar for breakfast - provides vocals and lead guitar, while Morecambe based Paul Boniface and David Bristow are the drum and bass duo who‘ve played together so long in previous bands that they’ve almost morphed into replicas of each other and only wives and band members are sure which is which.

I’m sure you’ll agree the Monocle Chronicles is – at just a fiver – well worth a purchase.

Catch them on December 5 at Lancaster’s Pendle Witch pub, or their New Year’s Eve bash at the Royal in Morecambe.