Mel Stone - Cat's Song review


Mel Stone is set to release Princess Part 1 on September 24th of this year. The release serves as the first in a double EP with the second slated to be released in March of 2022, and the two to eventually be combined into a full record. In the meantime though we have been promised two singles “Cat's Song” and “Simone,” the first releasing the day after you’re reading this on Mel’s bandcamp, as well as being added to streaming services one week later.


“Cat's Song” opens with a drum fill that sort of carries this track in a good way. The other pieces of the instrumentation are just subtle enough to add a lot of depth but still letting the percussion shine. That of course is not to dismiss the harmonies in the back of the leads that make the whole thing grand. The somber, yet sort of uplifting mood fits well with the lyrics, which narrate a person’s mental health struggle from a third party perspective. The second verse, still the same instrumentally, takes on a similar melody to the pre chorus that creates a sense of moving forward.


Another drum fill takes us right to the pre chorus that has pretty much the same vibe but with the inflection on the vocal melody turned way up with positivity. In both pre choruses we get really stand out lines in;


“She don’t want sympathy, just needs a day to be easy.”


“She don’t want fantasies, just something close to happy.”


Which, in a perspective way, makes the melody combined with the lyricism have a nice tonal depth. The chorus itself sounds just like the bridge but has this air of catchiness to it like any great chorus does.


After the second chorus, there is a short instrumental break with a sort of guitar solo that keeps that same energy but gives a nice sectioning feeling. Then all instrumentation stops as we change to a first person perspective with a powerful a capella section. Percussion takes us back in the same way it has the entire song; intense and demanding. Here we get a different side of the story ending with a vocal harmony that serves as a conclusion to the narrative;


“I’d probably do it all again.”


I mentioned the simple instrumentation a lot here, but don’t get me wrong I feel it serves the track well. With simplicity built around the vocals it gives you room to sit back and relax while the progression of the melody and the storyline in the lyrics take you on that journey. If you enjoy this, trust me, the best is yet to come.


The second single, “Simone,” releases August 20th. We’ll be back to talk about that one that week but until then make sure you support Mel on bandcamp (link below) where again you can listen to this song starting tomorrow and if you can contribute to her patreon where you can hear “Cat's Song” right now and “Simone” a week early too.


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