Owl & the Pussycat

Owl & the Pussycat is a duo made up of Greg Moore and Lois. She's an indie pop legend and he is half of the Moore Brothers, the group responsible for one of 2001's best records, Colossal Small on the Amazing Grease label. This record blends Lois' straightforward acoustic guitar sound with the Moore Brothers' subdued chamber pop-style quite successfully. Moore's soaring voice mixes very well with Lois' breathy, earthy tone; the traded-off vocals on "Blinds" and the shared lead of "Don't Play Me" and "I Drink to You" are proof of this. The lead-vocal duties are split pretty evenly and Moore and Lois provide dreamy background harmonies on most tracks. The tracks are built around acoustic guitars and filled out with the occasional electric guitar, piano, or flute. The songs are hook-filled and sweet as punch, with smart lyrics and a small-scale grandeur. At its best, on tracks like "Tigers" or "Give Me the Morning," the record is as good as any chamber pop you are going to hear in 2003 or any other year. At its least successful, on tracks like "Company" or "Left Blue," it is still a very good album, just as good as anything Lois has ever done. Full of gentle wonder and warm sunshine, Owl & the Pussycat sounds like a new love affair, recorded at the very moment when you realize you can't spend even a single moment away from the object of your affection. When you buy this record, you will fall in love too. Indie pop doesn't get much better than this.