Genre Defying

• Artist: Mistress Stephanie and Her Melodic Cat
  
• Album: Take That!
  
• Year: 2009
  
• Why I picked it up: I had to. The front and back cover art were priceless. And, I noted that it said it was printed and released in 2009, which rose the question as to why it was already in the bargain bin. I just had to hear it.

So many times while listening to this I just wondered "What the hell is this?" Mistress Stephanie and Her Melodic Cat thoroughly destroy any genres I tried to place them into. Occasionally they're electronica, then they suddenly turn to hard rock, followed by some cabaret, and then a poppy-ish song comes up, and so on until they've played every sound possible. Along with these many genres comes... a surprisingly good CD, and not in just a laughable manner. The songs are pretty far out there lyrically and they are still able to hold themselves up instrumentally. Their synth sounds--on the songs which have them--are very well done, the keyboards are great, and their range of other instruments are strong enough to support the main draw of the band, the lyricists. The female vocalist (Mistress Stephanie) has a voice which fits the sound of the band very well, and the male vocalist (Her Melodic Cat) sings with a droning, slightly accented voice that continues to accentuate the sound of the band. They are certainly a shocking band, and their image is definitely what they are trying to use as the main draw to their band, but they do have something more behind the leather and whips, which makes this album a fun listen.

The case says that it's made out of 100% recycled plastic. That's a plus.

• Standout tracks: Get Off My Chest, Awfully Confusing
  
• MySpace: Mistress Stephanie and Her Melodic Cat
  
• How much I would've paid: $5
  
• Rating: 3/5