Just Hangin' Out - I Slept All Day

​Just Hangin' Out

​I Slept All Day
self-released; 2017

3.4 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

From her Facebook page Just Hangin' Out is the solo artist known as Cat. She released I Slept All Day which is DIY style home recorded EP which is about demo quality. The EP can be summed up very easily. She strums mostly major and minor chords on the ukulele, often very fast while singing.

That’s one thing about the songs in general that I felt some of them would have been more effective if she slowed things down a bit. It felt like she was rushing on some of the songs when it would have been more emotionally resonant if she would have simmered down at times. The songs are all at approximately at the same BPM and feel like an extension of each other. She has a good voice but it was fully hard to appreciate because of the lo-fi quality of the recording. 

She opens with “Nothing” which has existential lyrics. She sings, “Sometimes I wonder how long I will last will I even see my roots change will the grass lose its hue how many friends will I lose.” The song has a number of digital glitches. 

As the album progresses she explores different topics but the songs feel almost identical. The best thing about the songs right now are the lyrics which have a lot of thought behind them. I thought the lyrics on “Shower Brain” were especially well written.

Cat has some talent but there's a lot of tweaking that she can do to start to grow as a musician. She needs to explore different tempos and chord strumming styles. That at the very least gives the listener some variety. I think including other musicians as well could help deepen these songs and help her grow as a musician as well. 

At some point she will want to work with an engineer or a producer if she is looking to get a professional recording. This was a solid sounding demo to get an idea of what she's capable of but not something that’s radio ready.  

​Overall, I like the spirit of this artist and the themes she explores. I’d love to hear the music evolve on her next effort.

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