All Thatched Roof Glass House cover artwork by Sean Nixon
SOME PRESS FOR THATCHED ROOF GLASS HOUSE
"Cats!!!!
I know this may not be the politically correct thing to say in public these days, but I don’t like cats. It is not that I wish them ill-fortune; I just don’t like their personalities as much as doggies. They are annoying creatures who really do look like they are thinking of ways to kill you when they have those uncomfortable stares. In this age where there are a half a billion idiots, (sorry, I meant, wonderful people who can change the world) around the globe on YouTube, clicking their lives away watching felines be jerks, I think throttling back on cat mania is probably the best decision for humanity. Then I get a record that makes me second guess myself on all things tabby…
Alpha Cat is the brainchild of one Elizabeth McCullough. She has been releasing records for a while. This album, Thatched Roof Glass House (distributed by Aquamarine Records), is the first one since a prolonged medical hiatus. It is a cool and tough, though a quite questioning release that is the aural equivalent of those black jeaned, leather-wearing art denizens in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. There is an urgency to the emotion that helps wrap this record in a sense of urban cool. Mona Lisa in a Comic Book is the obvious hit on the record. It has that NYC artist new wave type indie vibe that washes over the track, with the imagery coming back to the themes of a working-class Leonardo da Vinci’s spinning out their wares to help promote understanding and break glass ceilings.
In some sense, while listening and thinking about cats, I started thinking about the different ways nature’s a**holes have to communicate vocally and I applied them to some of the 7 songs on this record. Reconsider Me is like that insistent meow when you enter the apartment after a day of work to find the cat on the kitchen counter blandly reminding the apartment owner that once inside, they are there to serve the cat. Black Hole is the kind of cry that a cat will do in the middle of the night just to make sure the apartment owner is not going to be sleeping either. Thatched Roof Glass House is the kind of sound that the cat will make on a sunny afternoon stretched out on the rug and half purring.
Every Day You Break My Heart is that cry you get from the cat when you just fed them a full dinner that they ate all of, yet they still think they want more. Then when you give them more they sniff disdainfully and sashay away. Do you get my drift? All the while the musical end is ably held up by players and producers such as Fred Smith, Jon Mattox, Chris Butler, Doug Pettibone, Jason Harrison Smith and other members of what should be known as the Lower East Side’s Wrecking Crew.
All in all, while I won’t be getting tickets to see any of those Broadway show Cats singing Memories, I would go to Katz’s Deli listening to this on my iPhone’s earbuds. That is enough for me." Simon Sheppard: Reddit
"Alpha Cat’s “Thatched Roof Glass House” is one more record that speaks to several topics in America and the wider world; hopes and dreams, alienation, feminism, obsession and depression. The level of identity issues here speaks to a wider strain of questioning that is permeating all aspects of life including pop music. There have been many female artists before, going back to the great blues singers of the early 20th century like Bessie Smith who has explored the deep frustration from the female perspective on their roles in life and dealing with the species called…MEN. Actually, that is not exactly fair because you can tell that a lot of women singer-songwriters mostly have an indomitable ‘give it a go’ attitude when it comes to men. The man can do what men do and the women will sadly shake their heads and deal with it. The Tammy Wynette song “Stand by Your Man” is a classic example of female stoicism that addresses the better angels of the X chromosome.
Alpha Cat treads this ground on several songs in this interesting project. There is a hint of acoustic Nirvana on the track “Every Day You Break My Heart”, and suddenly it starts to gallop as the vocals intone: Slow down, back up, no one believes a single word you say. Then you realize the deeper darker tale of personal and family dysfunction that swirls around in singer, writer, bandleader, Elizabeth McCullough’s head. It would be interesting to find out who are the female influences here. Certainly, a little Patti Smith, ala “Horses”. I swear there may even be a hint of early Madonna influences coming out here on this melody laden CD. “Mona Lisa in a Comic Book” evokes a bit of the rock and roll Keith Richards of feminist activism, Ms. Chrissie Hynde. The pop sensibility and sultry vocals give the song an extra edge that sounds good when the volume is cranked up. Overall, “Thatched Roof Glass House” (from the Aquamarine label) is a good record and one that deserves a little extra scrutiny in the age of disposable music." Darell Murray: Medium.com
"Mockingbird" Alpha Cat
"When Alpha Cat proclaims she has rolled out “Mockingbird” as the first track of her epic album, Thatched Roof Glass House, she may as well have announced an earthquake, or a tidal wave — a tectonic force of change.
The genre of the song is “Alternative Rock” and it is an absolute masterpiece. One of the most amazing singles of all time. A transcendental experience. The most beautiful part of the song is the intro part where the guitar plucking starts right from the beginning with the delay pedal used in it which just sets the aura for the song, which is then rightly followed by the calm and soothing voice of “Elizabeth McCullough, aka Alpha Cat”.
The Chorus part is rightly to be the best lines of the song which states that “Be yourself or be loved, be yourself or be loved, be yourself, or be loved, be …”
So, Don’t wait anymore and listen to this beautiful song and give a thumbs up to the amazing artist Alpha Cat.” Shagun Mewara: Guitaa.com