Following a 1989 debut single entitled “Tom Verlaine,” this likably scruffy Cornwall-to-London quintet plays unfussy, mildly psychedelic garage pop with off-kilter lyrics on the catchy and cool eight-song Tell ‘Em We’re Surfin’ mini-album. Despite the intimidating threat of a three-man guitar army, the Family Cat is strictly small-scale; while there’s a bite to the droney textures, other bands get far more density and aggression from a single strummer.
The subsequent EP smoothes and tightens the Family Cat with four new tunes, including “Place with a Name,” a delectable ultra-pop tune with rich harmonies and a scathing noise-guitar solo, and the gently twisted “Theme from ‘The Family Cat’.”