The Golden Apple Hits

Album Review

Pop sensibilities are easy and quick to pick up on the Multiple Cat's The Golden Apple Hits. Whose pop sensibilities these are may be harder to pin down, however. The influences and similarities are vast and at times almost ridiculous. While generally keeping a qualified indie pop orchestration, one moment the Multiple Cat may sound similar to Queen, the next it may sound more akin to Radiohead and still later on perhaps Ben Folds Five. This can be better understood, however, when the listener understands the context of these influences. The Golden Apple Hits was recorded over the course of three years in various locations and with various individuals, so that the final project had nearly ten different people who had come to labor on it. Thankfully, much of the album seems to flow fairly well, but not without a few queer looks and head turns. Anything will work, though, to get people to listen to their songs of divorce, pain, rebirth, depression, etc. In the end, much of the material is enjoyable, just not without a lot of double takes.