Peter Escott

A poet, musician, and comedian, Australian Peter Escott is best known as a member of the Native Cats, a two-man band known for their lean blend of indie rock melodies, low-tech electronics, and edgy, introspective lyrics dealing with human relationships of all sorts. A native of Hobart, Tasmania, Escott, a trained pianist, teamed up with Julian Teakle of the Frustrations in 2007 to form the Native Cats, who soon earned a cult following for their unique music. At once playful but disturbingly intense, the Native Cats found Escott writing the lyrics and providing much of the accompaniment with a drum machine and a Nintendo DS powering a synthesizer while Teakle co-wrote the music and played bass. As the Native Cats began attracting a following, Escott was already looking for different avenues for his musical ideals; while the debut Native Cats album, Always On, appeared in 2009, Escott had already issued a series of limited-edition CD-R albums devoted to his piano pieces, and he self-released an official solo effort, Slowcoach, in 2008. In 2014, a year after the Native Cats enjoyed a major critical success with their third album, Dallas, Escott released a new solo effort, The Long O, in which he plays all the instruments himself, including piano, synthesizer, melodica, and what he calls "a solitary, awkwardly self-taught guitar chord." ~ Mark Deming