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''Pussycat'' is a studio album from American
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
singer and songwriter
Juliana Hatfield Juliana Hatfield (born July 27, 1967) is an American musician and singer-songwriter from the Boston area, formerly of the indie rock bands Blake Babies, Some Girls (band), Some Girls, and The Lemonheads. She also fronted her own band, The Julia ...
, released by American Laundromat Records on April 28, 2017. It has received positive reception from critics.


Recording and release

Hatfield wrote and recorded the album solo over the course of 12days, playing all instruments other than the drums. The work was inspired by her displeasure with the
2016 United States presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
.


Critical reception

From Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received an average score of 84 based on eight reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Kenneth Partridge of
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
gave ''Pussycat'' a B+ and praises the singer for stretching her songwriting into
protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...
s. Jon Putnam of ''
The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
'' gave the album a nine out of 10 for being Hatfield's best album, writing that it is "an unqualified success sHatfield has constructed it with multiple dimensions and, no matter the mood or approach a given song takes, she continually scores with material among the finest of her career". Will Layman of
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
agrees that this is Hatfield's best release and frames his review by writing that "''Pussycat'' is a celebration of some kind", as humans need to rely on one another for strength, including with uplifting music. The editorial staff of
AllMusic Guide AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
gave this release four out of five stars, with reviewer
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...
calling it a combination of "kinetic energy" in the performances with "a wealth of smart, barbed songs" in the songwriting that has "no separation between the personal and the political". Writing for '' Paste'', Craig Dorfman scored ''Pussycat'' a 7.2 out of 10, for fierce lyrics criticizing
misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...
and summing up that it has a "cathartic honesty ideal for the anger of our times". In his 6.8 out of 10 review for
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
, Evan Rytlewski also notes how angry Hatfield is against predatory men, noting that "as loaded as the subject matter is, it does amazingly little to diminish Hatfield’s bright spirit", with Hatfield still retains "the intrinsic tunefulness that’s marked every record she’s made since she was a teenager".


Track listing

All songs written by Juliana Hatfield #"I Wanna Be Your Disease"– 3:30 #"Impossible Song"– 4:35 #"You're Breaking My Heart"– 3:27 #"When You're a Star"– 2:16 #"Good Enough for Me"– 3:14 #"Short-Fingered Man"– 2:16 #"Touch You Again"– 2:54 #"Sex Machine"– 3:09 #"Wonder Why"– 3:02 #"Sunny Somewhere"– 3:13 #"Kellyanne"– 3:45 #"Heartless"– 2:21 #"Rhinoceros"– 3:36 #"Everything Is Forgiven"– 2:38


Personnel

*Juliana Hatfield– vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards,
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...
, mixing *Nicole Anguish– design *Pete Caldes– drums *Pat DiCenso–
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
*Sean Glonek– mastering at SRG Studios


References


External links


Aggregate of reviews
from Album of the Year * * {{Juliana Hatfield 2017 albums American Laundromat Records albums Juliana Hatfield albums Surprise albums