Brian Dunne was my favorite “new to me” artist of 2025. His album Clams Casino mixed bitterly clever yet never cynical lyrics with the kind of Billy Joel-meets-Bruce Springsteen pop rock that ruled 1980s radio. It gave me something I didn’t know I was missing. Ever since, I’ve been craving more.
The more is here, sort of. Turns out Dunne is also one-fourth of the singer-songwriter supergroup Fantastic Cat. The other three members are also veterans of the NYC singer-songwriter scene: Anthony D’Amato, Don DiLego, and Mike Montali (of the band Hollis Brown). Each is an artist slightly out of time, so it makes sense that they’d follow their 1980s muses to form their own Traveling Wilburys.
Like the Wilburys, Fantastic Cat is a lot of fun. But their third album, the newly released Cat Out Of Hell, finds the group achieving something that eluded the Wilburys: They sound like an actual band. Meaning, this isn’t just different artists hanging out and jamming on leftover songs. This album finds the members’ complimentary-yet-distinct styles coming together for a unified sound.
And trust me, I was really listening for the solo artists within. Since I came to this band via Dunne, I was eager to hear “his” songs. But for the most part, they don’t exist. Even when he sings lead, those tracks equally feature DiLego’s shimmering guitars or the folksy rhythms of D’Amato. Their separate strengths combine to create a collection of folk and Americana-leaning rockers that frequently turn out to be more emotional underneath on second listen. In this way, the supergroup that Fantastic Cat really resembles is the ’90s collection of Minnesota legends Golden Smog.
Take, for example, early single and standout track “Don’t Let Go.” It’s a perfect heartland rock anthem; big, bold, and yet also strikingly defiant in its message to never let go of youthful passions. Not in a cheesy “follow your dreams” way. Lyrics like “Nothing you can buy can save what you sold” come from a hard-fought, lived perspective. Similarly mature emotions creep up in the deceptively jangly and bright “I Spoke To God A Lot Last Year” and the bitterly twangy “The Waiting Room.” Even “Elevator”—which sonically calls to mind the Wilburys’ “Rattled” and is also in the third slot—is ultimately a fairly dark call to save the world yourself since nobody’s coming to help. This is an album made by friends cutting loose, but in doing so, they achieve catharsis for themselves and the listener.
Of course, some songs are also simply fun. Lead-off track “Donnie Takes The Bus” is a Dawes-esque number that’ll sound great at your summer BBQs, and “How’s That Working Out” feels like you’re being chased in the best way possible. In fact, the only song I didn’t connect with is the album closer “Nobody Better,” which ditches the fun to be self-serious in a frustratingly straight-ahead way.
Thankfully, the rest of Cat Out Of Hell captures the do-anything energy of a band that’s famous for trading instruments every few songs at their live shows. Like many side projects, the goal with everything they do seems to be having a good time—even the FAQ on their website is a clever, fun read—but they do it well enough that it never feels like a goof. They earn the “supergroup” distinction, will make perfect “porch music” as we move into warmer months, and most of all, this will hold me over until Brian Dunne puts out a new solo album.
