My Cat Is An Alien :: Living on the Invisible Line

Italian brother duo My Cat Is An Alien (Maurizio and Roberto Opalio) broaden their vistas with Living on the Invisible Line. An apt title for an outing that wafts in and out of substance, often with just the scratch and whisper of a guitar to give you something to hold on to. The impatient may find that it feels that they aren’t going anywhere, but that’s part of the ephemeral vibe running through the cuts; seemingly caught in emotional doldrums, Living on the Invisible Line comes across as the soundtrack to an isolation tank stay. Nothing stays still for long, and neither do My Cat Is An Alien. By steadfastly sticking to the path laid out by untitled 1 and the unhurried unfurling, MCIAA prove that, when in the right context, the most infinitesimal shift can resonate as loudly as a wall of feedback. And movement is movement no matter how fleeting; by the time you reach untitled 1′s close after 14 minutes, hindsight confirms you’ve covered some ground, some hauntingly rural and pastoral ground. You may just not have known it since the operative motive here may be that the journey really is the destination. Wistfully forlorn and melancholic, MCIAA use detail and empty space to show that the twinge you feel when you wiggle that possibly rotted tooth doesn’t only prove that there may be something uncomfortable below the skin; it proves those are signs of being human. Recorded in an isolated area of the Western Alps, Living on the Invisible Line may seem as shiftless and unmoving as mountains, but they come from somewhere and get their form from the wind in the peaks and valleys as much as they do from their heft.

Living on the Invisible Line is out November 11th digitally and in an edition of 500 on vinyl.

untitled 4 :: My Cat Is An Alien :: Living on the Invisible Line (2011, Divorce Records)

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