Vicious Delicious - Luvcat Album Review

Words: Darci Jackson

The creak of a wooden chair rocking back and forth, as the waning light of dusk creeps in through the windows; a soft but chilling breeze whistling outside as we turn to the first page of the dark fairytale that is Luvcat’s debut album Vicious Delicious.

A delectable taste of mystery and obsession, bundled up into a sickly sweet story of a once romantic relationship turned sour.

And there’s nothing more fitting than unveiling this tale on the most haunted day of the year; Halloween.

After releasing her debut single Matador under the moniker Luvcat just last year, Liverpool’s resident Gothic doll is already well on her way to holding more unassuming mortals under her spell with Vicious Delicious. Single He’s My Man was recently reimagined for the one year anniversary, featuring iconic Mancunian poet John Cooper Clarke.

Opening track Lipstick sets the scene, launching into an honest commentary of lust, with a menacingly strong brass section. As she describes herself as a doll in the song, we’re automatically transported to this fantasy world as Luvcat croons: ‘I can be your cowgirl, or your stewardess, or your bedside nurse mopping up your sweat.’ With the introduction of so many characters, the story begins to unfurl its wispy tendrils as we try to grasp at what the truth is.

The first person narration throughout the record is rather eerie, as if we’re experiencing all of this right alongside Luvcat, and we can’t shut out eyes (or ears). Yet, it’s also quite a spectacle to be taken along this specific journey with her.

Throughout the album, the visual imagery is utterly striking, particularly with Dinner @ Brasserie Zédel; the Parisian decor, candles flickering, the glint of red wine and bread in a small wicker basket. The wants projected in this song completely turn on their head in following tune He’s My Man.

Perhaps one of the most captivating listens not only on the album but in Luvcat’s repertoire, He’s My Man (led to begin with by just a singular guitar riff), builds and builds, creating a classy, antique feel. When Luvcat spellbindingly drawls ‘He keeps having feverish dreams, that he can never ever leave,’ although said rather casually, playfully almost, it’s evident that there’s something much deeper occurring. Yet, this is just another twist in the turmoil of the album, and we’re constantly guessing who this male persona is.

Title track Vicious Delicious is pure magic, detailing this power struggle that is so vehement across the record. The rhyming of the title, as well as the truthfulness of the lyricism, makes this particular track feel like more of a diary entry, as if we’re getting but a snippet of what’s really going on, before it’s shut away again during Love & Money.

Multiple nods back to her hometown of Liverpool (particularly of venues such as The Jacaranda and The Kazimier Garden) help bring this album to life, giving us somewhere to imagine this enchanting world in which Luvcat lives. The Jacaranda is also supposedly haunted, adding depth to this fictitious world in which Luvcat’s lyrics reside.

Yet there’s an almost childlike simpleness sprinkled throughout as well, particularly through the twinkling noises that sound like when you wind up the doll in a children’s jewellery box, and on Blushing we’re greeted with rhymes such as ‘With the pigtails and the biggest tips; Milk teeth and arsenic lips.’ Blushing is a particular highlight on the album, the feelings of being smitten worded so eloquently and so powerfully. As she details that with the lyrics ‘I’m just lipstick and pearls; I’m just a blushing girl,’ it’s a rare show of innocence.

Yet that, contrasted with final track Bad Books, feels like just as we’re seeing a redemption arc, Luvcat taunts that this is a story that will repeat itself, like a predator hunting for its next victim.

It feels as though the passion throughout this body of work is a melting pot of sultry mischief, that no matter how many times you listen you’re left with a greedy feeling of wanting more. Luvcat is truly mesmerising, drawing you in with her painted talons. She’s a coquette enigma, contrasting a true romantic at heart with a dark twist, much like the inky streak in her otherwise golden hair.

Feeling like a classic tale of ages gone by, Vicious Delicious will certainly stand the test of time as an album full of twists and turns that leave you guessing at every corner. There’s something truly timeless about the record, so effortlessly modern yet also unbelievably vintage. Luvcat truly is a mystery never to be uncovered, and it feels as if we’re holding our breath, waiting to see when she will strike next.