Spurred on by a quip from an ex-girlfriend, and Paul McCartney’s McCartney III (2020), Henderson K. Shatner – Catnyp songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist – created his most fearless platter to date, Catnyp IIII, out next Spring. On this 14-song collection of intoxicating indie-rock treats, the Missoula, Montana-based artist explores the outer stratosphere of his eccentric modern classic sensibility.
“My ex provided some unsolicited advice that set the tone for this album,” Shatner shares with a good-natured laugh. “She said ‘get back to your quirk-pop rock roots.’” He complied by peeling back the layers of production and instrumentation he explored on previous releases. For the most part, Catnyp IIII is viscerally lean—just one guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. It has the rawness and energy of a demo, but with the high-fidelity and clarity of a polished studio production. It’s a best-of-both worlds approach guided by the golden touch of multiplatinum mixer engineer Brian Reeves (U2, Miley Cyrus, Elton John).
The Macca influence came from the self-contained vibe of his recent album in which the former Beatle played all the instruments. Taking a cue from this McCartney feat, Shatner—already an accomplished bassist and guitarist—learned drums in a couple of months, and then recorded 14 instrumentals. Next, he set aside 4 sequential days to write lyrics and melodies, before tracking vocals, often tearing through 4-5 songs in a day.
“It was scary staring at a blank screen with a cup of coffee, trying to write lyrics to so many instrumentals in such a short amount of time. It definitely gave the album a certain cohesiveness that might not be there if everything had been written and recorded in a more typically organic manner,” Shatner says. “It also allowed for some fearless experimentation in vocal styles.”
Shatner is a dynamic and melody-centric songwriter who carefully crafts each vocal line, and, like McCartney, pens lyrical basslines. He also impactfully uses loud-and-soft contrasts, recalling the explosive musicality of the Pixies and Nirvana. This penchant for juxtaposition plays out throughout his musicality as his lyrics, and his instrumentation, are rife with layers of meaning and oomph. Shatner’s songwriting is informed by 1990s alt-rock, Brit-pop, new wave and dark wave, and the timeless rock n’ roll of the Beatles and the Stones. To date, Catnyp has released The Black Cat Trilogy of records issued yearly from 2018 until 2020.
Shatner cut his teeth in the Denver music scene in the late 1990s before working and living internationally with bands in Australia, Sweden, and the UK. While across the pond, he formed the seminal surf-goth band, Brand Violet, as bass player and songwriter. The band were signed to iconic Some Bizarre Records (Depeche Mode, The The, Soft Cell).
Catnyp was formed when Shatner returned stateside in 2015. The group features Shatner as primary songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, but it also boasts a fluid membership of trusted studio and onstage musicians. Along for the ride on Catnyp IIII — on tracks “Big Sky” and “No Hope” — is Emily Dolan Davies on drums (Bryan Ferry, The Darkness, Tricky, The Hours), as well asoften-featured Catnyp collaborator Ian Weckler on guitar on the tracks “Sharp White Teeth,” “Houdini” and “Mainstreaming.”
The single, Big Sky, recalls the beat-poet twisted surf-rock of the Pixies, and features the dexterous and powerhouse drums of Emily Dolan Davies. The song tackles the idea of nature slowly becoming the playground of the wealthy. “The album, overall, has a lot of travel, journey type imagery, and this song certainly taps one angle of that,” Shatner acknowledges. The lyrics here celebrate Montana landmarks while lamenting the joys of these places slowly becoming out of reach for normal folk. One passage reads: I’ll put a fence up, then drive the rents up/So they can dream of the Flathead shore no more/I’ll re-read Chekov, dust Dostoyevsk-off/Looks like time for a new Oligarchy to me.
