Tomcat: ‘Something’s Coming On Wrong’

TOMCAT
SOMETHING’S COMING ON WRONG
To be released on January 20, 2017 (Tomcat)

Review:
If Sleaze Roxx could grant a “Most Improved Award” to a band, it would go hands down to Slovenian rockers Tomcat. After what I can only really describe as at times a mediocre and all over the place debut album entitled Bits N’ Pieces, Tomcat have regrouped and rebounded with a very strong sophomore album titled Something’s Coming On Wrong. To be honest, I did not think that Tomcat had such a great album in them and I had pretty much written them off and stopped keeping track of them after hearing and reviewing their debut album Bits N’ Pieces back in September 2014.

As it turns out, perhaps my review of Tomcat‘s debut album Bits N’ Pieces had some influence because I was shocked to recently find out that the band underwent a major member overhaul a few months after my review was released. How big was the major member overhaul? Well, four of the five band members apparently departed Tomcat by early January 2015. Undeterred, Tomcat bassist Šujo apparently recruited four new members, which in the process completely reinvented and reinvigorated the band.

Although Tomcat still have a lot of different styles on their new album Something’s Coming On Wrong, this time around, they have been able to establish their own sound throughout the entire album. Gone are the puzzling inconsistent mishmash of styles that could sometimes be found all in one song on the debut album and in are consistency and frankly a very professional effort on the sophomore album. Comparing Tomcat‘s debut album Bits N’ Pieces and follow up record Something’s Coming On Wrong is like night and day. There is no comparison. Something’s Coming On Wrong is a million times better than Bits N’ Pieces. Alright, I am exaggerating but you get the picture.

Even though Tomcat hail from Slovenia, there seems to be a real Irish tinge flavour to a lot of their songs and with new singer Žiga Krasnič‘s killer vocal delivery. Tracks like the stellar first single “Carnium” and the engaging “Rosemary” may well make you think of the Black Star Riders. Tomcat describe themselves as an “exciting mixture of classic hard rock with modern metal, spiced up with elements of grunge, glam, funk and blues.” I haven’t really noticed any grunge on the album except perhaps for the last track “Time Will Rise” but the other influences are there but carefully incorporated into the songs. For instance, Tomcat do a stellar job of incorporating a whole lot of funk on their song “Smell The Funk.”

Overall, I like all the tracks on Something’s Coming On Wrong except the out of place adult contemporary ballad “Last Letter” which is way too much of a departure from the rest of the songs for my taste. Considering that I only liked three out of the ten songs on Tomcat‘s debut album Bits N’ Pieces and could hardly get through the album, enjoying and wanting to hear almost all of Tomcat‘s sophomore album Something’s Coming On Wrong illustrates to me just how far Tomcat have come this time around. If you like what you hear with Tomcat‘s “Carnium” video below, you may want to consider contributing to Tomcat‘s funding campaign, which the group has started to deliver its new album in the best way possible.

Track List:
01. Enemy
02. Come Down
03. Is It A Sin
04. One Left
05. Rosemary
06. Mayday
07. Funk
08. Carnium
09. Last Letter
10. Time Will Rise

Band Members:
Žiga Krasnič – vox
Žbun – rhythm guitar
Izzy – solo guitar
Šujo – bass
Bizi – drums

Band Websites:
Bandcamp
Facebook
Soundcloud

Reviewed by Olivier for Sleaze Roxx, October 2016

Tomcat‘s “Carnium” video:

Tomcat – Carnium (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

First video of Tomcat’s second album Something’s coming on wrong.The video was directed and written by Jure Gorjanec.Listen to the song here: https://soundcl…