Cat Thompson has shared stages with some of the biggest international pop music talents since first venturing outside the confines of her native Australia, but the half Filipino and Northern Irish singer/songwriter seems primed for even larger stages with the release of her latest single “Be Mine”. The new single follows up her previous effort “All I Want” with a winning effort that doesn’t pigeonhole Thompson’s talents or trajectory, but rather shows off her versatility in perhaps unexpected ways while never taking her far from the strengths that have garnered her renown up to now.
This song will, undoubtedly, make for a memorable addition to her live act and we get some hint of her power in front of a paying audience with the absolute commitment and passion she brings to this recording. Cat Thompson’s “Be Mine” is everything modern pop should and can be.
Everything here is in place to make it that sort of winner. The construction of the song’s musical and vocal halves complement each other without ever creating any tension and, as a result, the performance is seamless from the first in a way that mimics a well-rehearsed live performance. There’s freshness, however, coming from the arrangement that doesn’t sound like either Thompson nor her collaborators have “lived” with their ideas too long; instead, it’s vibrant and has a discernible texture every listener will enjoy.
It’s no small accomplishment when you consider the bulk of the song’s musical accompaniment is electronic in origin and, nevertheless, invested with the sort of warmth we often associate with traditional instruments. The song is structured in such a way that it makes excellent use of space, never cluttering things up too much for the listener, and allowing Thompson’s voice to dominate much of our aural attention.
The increased attention to her voice is something she can handle. Thompson is an often artful, nuanced singer still enormously capable of filling her interpretation with all of the breathy, palpable passion this song demands to realize its fullest potential. She’s able to conjure multiple emotions from her singing and the song’s lyric without ever exerting herself unduly; the lack of any over-wrought moments in this performance clearly differentiates the song from many similar efforts in the pop genre.
Cat Thompson’s growing experience as a performing and recording artist has made her quite a well-rounded performer at an early age and it’s something you can hear in every minute of “Be Mine”. This is a clear advance over her previous single and shows a performer whose gaining momentum with each new outing. Cat Thompson’s reach already extends to a global level, but her new single “Be Mine” sets her up to potentially become a household world on the backs of her latest effort. She’s a major talent in every respect and the song will likely become a valued part of her live act.
Keep up with Cat Thompson on her WEBSITE
Hear ‘Be Mine’ on AMAZON
-review by Scottie Carlito
