All Borders Porous to Cats sounds unlike any World/Inferno Friendship Society album to date, which also means it sounds exactly like a World/Inferno Friendship Society record. For the uninitiated, Word/Inferno Friendship society mixes every genre known to man and filters them through a punk rock ethos. If any album of theirs sounded like a previous one, fans would be gravely disappointed that singer Jack Terricloth and gang didn’t push punk rock’s boundaries.
The biggest surprise of All Borders Porous to Cats is the David Bowie influence. By embracing Bowie’s least commercial sounds, World/Inferno made their most commercial album to date. Songs like “The Cat In The Hat Has the Right To Sing the Blues,” “Three Parts WTF,” and “Freedom is a Wilderness Meant for You and Me” would have simultaneously stood out as unique and been at home on early-to-mid-2000s alternative rock radio.
Lyrically, World/Inferno doesn’t deviate from the usual tales of committing crimes, fighting inner demons, and longing for freedom. If you must compare All Borders Porous to Cats to previous World/Inferno output, it’s closest to Addicted to Bad Ideas: Peter Lorre’s Twentieth Century with less 1920s Berlin cabaret influence and a biographical elements. Both albums explore an outcast’s attitude in the time period they are set in, the former in the present and the latter in the 1920-1950s.
Considering that World/Inferno is a proud band of assorted misfits and freaks, it’s no surprise that they would touch on how a political atmosphere affects them. Longtime fans won’t be surprised that Jack Terricloth sings about the culture wars and dreams landing on the floor in “The Roosters Are Coming Home to Crow.” Culture wars and killed scenes were touched upon in “Ich erinnere mich an die Weimarer” (translation: “Remember the Weimar Republic”) from Addicted to Bad Ideas. You either agree with Terricloth’s sentiments, enjoy his commentary on the world, or aren’t a fan of World/Inferno anyway.
The only minor disappointment on All Borders Porous to Cats is that the horns don’t get spotlighted enough. They shine on “All I Can Do To Help You with Your Nightmares Is Keep You Up Late,” but are in the background for the rest of the album.
All Borders Porous to Cats doesn’t have a bad song on it. The entire album is a worthy addition to The World/Inferno Friendship Society’s discography.
Rating 10 out of 10
