Cat Dowling: The Believer

Cat Dowling’s was the breathy purr that fronted Alphastates (and their previous incarnation, Babelfish), and when that most under-rated of outfits called it a day, we feared it was the last we’d hear of her incredible voice. Thankfully, she’s been beavering away on The Believer in what she terms ‘stolen moments’: taken together, these snatched seconds form a stunning solo debut.
The Believer was recorded with a full band that includes her former Alphastates cohort Gerry Horan on guitar, keyboards and drums, with Karl Odlum on bass and a stunning string duo in Marja Gaynor and Kevin Murphy, along with Brian Barnes on backing vocals.
Title-track and album opener, ‘The Believer’, is an insistent three minutes of driving guitars, thumping drums and Cat’s soaring vocal. Her voice is an incredible instrument, somehow combining the lilt of Portishead’s Beth Gibbons and the sneer of a young Polly Harvey, as she shifts gears and genres with equal panache, from the exquisite orchestral pop of ‘Cruel’, through the dark energy of ‘Somebody Else’, the pastoral ‘The Rules’ and on to the Sigur Rós-like majesty of ‘The Well Runs Dry’ and the waltzing lullaby of ‘Sing You To Sleep’, which closes things with a warm glow.
The highlights come when she kicks back with the deliciously downbeat, scuzzy electronica that forms much of the album, including the masterful ‘Come On’, the Björk-esque ‘Invisible’, the eastern tinge on the ironically-titled ‘Gospel Song’ and the stunning ‘Hunters’, where gorgeous, choral vocals are overlaid on gently undulating synths and deliciously lo-fi drumbeats.
The sexiest voice in Irish music is back, and The Believer is the best thing she’s ever done. Hopefully the country’s radio programmers and festival bookers will take note: it’s about time this Cat landed on her feet.

Key Track: ‘Hunters’