Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"There's no substitute for a powerful voice - in this case, Thirsk's - taking charge of a good melody and making it a great one. Simply put, [she] can't be touched." - Georgia Straight
"Showing her prowess on some fevered, angular synth-adorned pop-rock, Thirsk posseses a voice that's as girlish and coy as Metric's Emily Haines ... the bass-heavy grooves, sing-song melodies and even the detour into boombox electro-house on the title track that makes Thirsk's boasts ("I am the one to show you!") she coolly struts on "Number One") so killer." - Chart
""Iamloved" - sexy vampy shufflepop... There's no getting around this song's obvious resemblence to Goldfrapp's "Train," but really, if we're going to have so many lousy clones of far lesser songs, I really don't mind having some really well executed variations on music that actually rules." - Fluxblog.org
With her sweet but edgy voice, Catlow is a bit of a throwback to the alternative 1990s when scrappy female-fronted rock bands were plentiful on the musical landscape." - Chromewaves.net
"Natasha Thirsk's first adventure after The Dirtmitts is a guitar-based band adept at constructing the kind of arresting angular grooves that suit her sexy-sinister vocal style. Catlow's new Kiss the World shows her advancing craft as a songwriter accustomed to handling radioactive materials." - Globe and Mail
Discography
Album: Catlow - Kiss the World (Boompa Records)
Single: "Don't Think", "House Arrest" - V/A: Boompa Volume 1 (Boompa Records)
Album: The Dirtmitts Get On (Sonic Unyon Records)
Album: The Dirtmitts - Self-Titled (Sonic Unyon Records)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Achieving a flow between innovation and power-pop is a feat that artists struggle with everyday. The musical prowess of CATLOW, however, makes it appear deceptively simple. Perhaps most significant is that CATLOW is the new incarnation of NATASHA THIRSK, lead-singer for indierock darling The Dirtmitts.
Raised in Vancouver, BC, Natasha's family was the foundation of her music talent - her mother a piano player and her father in a gospel sax quartet. Many years of bouncing from one instrument to another eventually led to the discovery that songwriting came easily to Natasha and by her mid-teens she was immersed in music of her own.
After dabbling in programming bass-heavy dance beats for two years, Natasha became a self-taught guitar player by the age of 21. Tapping into her talents as a multi-faceted artist - singer, songwriter and musician alongside of friend Jennifer Deon, before long The Dirtmitts were formed.
The summer of 2001 saw the release of their self-titled debut on Sonic Unyon Records. The 12-song effort won the hearts of indie rockers and critics worldwide and the album finished in the Top 50 of the 2001 Canadian college music charts. The impact was strongly felt at home and after a few 'cross Canada and U.S. tours, The Dirtmitts became the first Sonic Unyon band to tour the U.K. where their London show saw highlighted mention in Time Out magazine as the "pick of the night".
Back home, the band headed into the studio to record their follow-up album Get On, which was released in late 2002. "In the Meantime" and "Fix + Destroy", two tracks from the first album, were used in episodes of the hit Fox television series 24, the NBC teen series Just Deal and in the incidental music of American Psycho 2. A recent highlight was the inclusion of the title track "Get On" in the Showtime television series soundtrack TheLWord: Second Season, released on Tommy Boy Records.
While the efforts of her rock combo have kept Natasha busy, somehow she remarkably found time to develop her own solo project - CATLOW. The debut album, KISS THE WORLD, was born out of three years of creativity centered around Studio 9 in Los Angeles and beautifully exemplifies all of Natasha's artistic strengths. With a seamless yet intricate weave of textured vocals and teasingly provocative lyrics, this incredibly diverse recording is complimented by the world class musicianship of Ian Browne (Matthew Good Band), Wil Golden (Michelle Branch), Ed Maxwell,andAl Sgro (Gary Jules) along with several others.
With instantly accessible melodies and enough eccentric charm to win over fans of Rilo Kiley and Blonde Redhead, KISS THE WORLD is already highly anticipated by tastemakers across North America.
Band Members
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