Chemical Jazz

(GOOCD001, 2003)

Reviews

For a self-produced, self-released debut, Chemical Jazz is one hell of a calling card. If you're a creative person in the midst of a bit of a slump, it may even make you feel a little inadequate. You've been warned.

Nick Troop - a man who clearly knows his way around his rock history, but with a knack for subverting genres and adding his own very individualistic spin on what can only very broadly be described as 'indie' on "Chemical Jazz"

"Chemical Jazz" is a defiantly square peg where the round hole pigeonholers are concerned and that's definitely one of its many strengths. Nick Troop is very surely a man to watch.

Nick has put a lot of work into these tracks, maybe with a hint of knowing that they were not going to be the big chorus singalongs that other artists go for. For this he has to be applauded.

Strange Little Creature

(GOOCD002, 2004)

Reviews

Every song has a different personality and the psychological concept of mental representation divides this personality into ten ambiguous figures drawn by music.

An easy way to recognize a good band is when they come out with an amazing debut album. An even easier way to recognize an extraordinary band is when their follow-up album is even better than the first.

Difficult second albums aren't supposed to be this good.

Imagine Morrissey as the front man for The Dead one minute and David Bowie with Trent Reznor the next and you might get the idea what CatDesigners may sound like.

This is a better follow-up album than it has any right to be. While the first album showed a lot of promise, the second album allows Nick’s visions to be fully realised.

Tomorrow Never Knows

(GOOCD003, 2006)

Reviews

Well here is something that you don't come across too often, an artist covering a whole album from another artist. The artist and album in question is The Beatles REVOLVER album at which point you may or may not sit up and become more interested in this. You might also ask who is nuts enough to attempt this mad venture. The answer is Nick Troop aka CatDesigners who assures us that “I’ve done it a little differently. I wanted the styles I used to pre-date and post-date The Beatles.”

Nick Troop, who is Cat Designers, has made two fine albums in the past. His new one is a cover of the Beatles' Revolver. There have been others doing this as well, Mary Lee's Corvette's version of Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" springs to mind. But Nick Troop is gifted enough and brave enough to succeed.

This won't replace the original in anyone's affections, but it makes an entertaining album in its own right.