Influenced by Serge Gainsbourg, Morrissey, and the steampunks who visit Whitby, Cats with Lasers tells the story of mutant extraterrestrials, which invade Earth, and the only man ready to stand up to them—a new kind of hero. At the juncture between wild imaginings and half-madness, parts were written for Diane Youdale, or ‘Jet’ from Gladiators, and the real-life maker of ingenious musical gadgetry, Thomas Truax.
lyrics
Cats with Lasers
Precision cloc-kwor-k, slapstic-k Stan & Ollie:
a pair of oddities—a telepathic double act.
Let’s interface—switch from silent cinema.
Let’s break the fourth wall—take up the gauntlet.
Could it be she’s my Brigitte Bardot—
my muse, the spark for a smoke-infused utterance?
A call to arms, Children of the Underworld:
swirling closer, a cloud of poison ink.
Chilled to the bone,
kids in blazers;
looks that kill;
cats, cats,
cats with lasers—
lasers for eyes;
their interstellar steamship
blackens the skies.
Cats with lasers—
a glancing blow.
We are freaks of nature:
they’re the mew-tant foe.
We put the boot in—flew the freak-flag.
We stood resolute like Morrissey’s quiff.
Let’s interface—plunder science fiction.
Let’s flick the V-sign with conviction.
Could it be she’s my comic-strip Barbarella—
sensuous lips and thought clouds melding?
A call to arms, Children of the Far North:
with collars up, let’s kick them back to Hell.
Chilled to the bone,
kids in blazers;
looks that kill;
cats, cats,
cats with lasers—
lasers for eyes;
their interstellar steamship
blackens the skies.
Cats with lasers—
a glancing blow.
We are freaks of nature:
they’re the mew-tant foe.
credits
from Cats with Lasers / The Rebirth of Reynardine,
released May 7, 2012
Words & Music by Blue-John Benjamin
Produced by Peter Batchelder
Arranged by Thom & Rich Whitworth
Mastered by Steve Kultgen
Engineered by Mark Poole
The Players: Thomas Truax, Diane ‘Jet’ Youdale, and Harryson Whitworth
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