The Cato Salsa Experience are clearly inspired by times long gone. Everything from their name to the artwork to the music itself is unmistakebly retro, but as frontman Cato points out, “We don’t necessarily want the music to be totally retro, maybe some pastiche kind of deal”. And granted, there are hints being dropped throughout “A Good Tip for a Good Time” that the band aren’t taking themselves entirely too seriously. The wholesale embrace of loopy riffs, various effects, “exploding drums” as the band state in the press release, and Detroit-style rock ‘n’ roll gives the record a wholly un-Norwegian energy and flair, all the while making mockery of the original, limiting characteristics of the genre they’ve familiarised themselves with.

While this is fuzzy, hard-hitting up-beat/beat-up garage rock (including undertones of psychedelia and some very nice keyboard work) at some of its finest, I still can’t help but shake the feeling that this is imitation stuff. That might just be part of the problem, too – it seems hard to come up with something fresh and original when the basic formula for the group is satire. But don’t let this put you off the Experience alltogether – this record is after all about having a good time, nothing more, nothing less, and tracks such as “Deadbeat” and “So, the Circus is Back in Town” certainly deliver as the record’s title promises.

Year Released: 2002
Label: Emperor Norton
Related Link: Cato Salsa Experience Official Website
Date Reviewed: 2004-09-11
Author: Andreas