Summer Cats

Sounding every bit as warm, sweet, and cuddly as their name suggests, the Summer Cats formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 2006 and are comprised of ex-Earthmen frontman Scott Stevens along with Hugh, Irene, Julia, and Scott B. The band first made waves with "Hush Puppy," a jangly track rooted in acts like the Go-Betweens and, perhaps more noticeably, Cub. The Summer Cats made the song available online, where it generated quite a bit of critical hype, notably from the folks at Pitchfork. Thanks to all the hype, the following year found the Summer Cats releasing a flurry of singles and EPs. "Hush Puppy" found its way onto a split 7" (released on Knock Yr Socks Off) with the Portland-based indie pop duo Eux Autres, and the Australian label Popboomerang released Scratching Post, the Summer Cats' debut EP. Several tracks from that disc were repackaged and re-released as a single, Wild Rice, via the Miami-based label Cloudberry, which went ahead and released another of the band's singles, Lonely Planet, in 2008. Another EP, Passion Pop, showed up on London's WeePop Records that same year. Their debut album, Songs for Tuesdays, was released fittingly enough in the summer of 2009 by Slumberland Records.