FELIX DA HOUSECAT DEVIN DAZZLE & THE NEON FEVER ALBUM EMPEROR NORTON RELEASE: MAY 26, 2004 REVIEW: JUNE 8, 2004

Felix Da Housecat is steadily turning himself into some kind of modern day Bootsy Collins. But his instrument isn’t the bass, oh no – only the sleaziest electro for our Mr Housecat. Here we have tracks themed around his latest mythical incarnation – the fantastically named Devin Dazzle, along with his backing band The Neon Fever.
We are heading on this album further into the seedy sound introduced on such tracks as "Nude Photo", creating a heady mix between the early Detroit sound and the harsher Berlin sound the likes DJ Hell and Miss Kittin have pioneered. Very much an electro album, all the songs focus around the themes of animal attraction, sex, partying, more sex… . You might need to take a cold bath after listening to it!
The album tracks are made primarily of stark electro basslines, with very harsh driving electro leads and very, very DIY sounding effects – all the trademarks of the retro-looking direction taken by Felix da Housecat in recent times.
The hedonism is enhanced through the lyrics – “You make me sweat, I think it’s time, …your place or mine?” ("Hunting Season"). The tracks all have suitably crude undertones and you can almost smell the testostorone seeping out of the speakers.
It is fair to say that this album is quite hit and miss; sometimes the carefully constructed retro does sound just a bit too home-made, and rather like you are listening to the demo rather than the real thing. Also tracks such as "Devin Dazzle", sound like themes from since long deleted American sit-coms – the kind of thing even retro shouldn’t try to bring back!
When it does fall into place though, on such tracks as "Watching Cars Go By" and "Rocket Ride", the dirtiness of the sounds enhances the overall tracks, turning them into the kind of porno-soundtracks we have been missing since the days of "Head" by Prince. The perfect album for selected nightclubbers and sex-shop workers alike!

MIKE WHYTE