So some Scottish scientists cloned a sheep named Dolly a few years ago. You saw the story. It was on the cover of Time with a big picture of two sheep that looked exactly the same. It doesn't seem like much of a revolution on the surface, does it? Scientists make two sheep that are exactly alike. I mean, sheep are basically the same to begin with. But dig down, and you start to realize just how sweeping and far-reaching this cloning and gene research thing could go.

The possibilities of curing diseases, growing spare organs and making unholy combinations of different species (I propose a cross between a rhino and Henry Rollins-- that'd be punkest thing on earth!) come immediately to mind. Regardless of all those pesky ethical questions that seem to keep popping up, the future of biological science seems to be in gene splicing and engineering.

Of course, rock and roll was way ahead of science on the whole cloning and splicing thing. Way back in 1991, they cloned Pearl Jam and got Stone Temple Pilots. Techno auteurs like DJ Shadow and Tom Jenkinson have been successfully splicing disparate genres together for years now. And in the early 90's, a quiet indie rocker named Pat Stolley got together with some of his friends and set to work on a very ambitious splicing project that would incorporate dozens of influences. They emerged with a bizarre little band they called the Multiple Cat. No one noticed.

That was a decade ago now, and still, no one has noticed. The Multiple Cat have released several albums and a few EPs over the years, but have failed to gain even a cult following. It's possible that all that ambitious splicing simply created something too idiosyncratic to survive in the commercial current of music. The Multiple Cat certainly defy easy categorization, though I'd advise you that All Music Guide's assertion that they're a "heavy metal" band is the most off-base characterization possible.

The ironically titled The Golden Apple Hits opens with a few very tantalizing piano chords before diving into a swinging rhythm reminiscent of the final efforts of Ben Folds Five. By the time the first song, "Julliet," is over, you've heard little tinges of everything from horn-laden, August pop of the Archer Prewitt variety to soul/funk, electro pop and prog. For someone already familiar with this troupe, it's refreshing to discover that they're still refusing to straighten up and fly right after all these years, regardless of how mixed the results can be.

Mostly, the Multi-cats are on a roll here, balancing the rough with a lot more diamonds than usual. One such gem is "Canvassed and Spent," a lovely little acoustic tune stuffed with mellow harmonies and a quirky clarinet solo. Pat Stolley keeps his limited vocals in a comfortable range, avoiding the attempted Thom Yorke falsetto that gets him into trouble from time to time. The standout by far, though, is "Saviour in a Plaid Coat," a gooey confection that vocally recalls early Mercury Rev, while trading off strumming acoustic guitar and Rhodes piano. "Disconcerting Conversations" follows, sounding like a young Pavement trying to cover Yes with the Rev's Suzanne Thorpe on woodwinds.

Elsewhere in the Multiple Cat's genome, we can find traces of jazz, though they seem to be mostly located on recessive alleles. There's no real overt improvisation or soloing, but the ghosts of old standards waft through the chords Stolley chooses, frequently augmented with jazzy sevenths and given to modal interchange. "Stitched Up" is a giddy Frankenstein of traditional pop chords and jazzy passages, buoyed along by a rather unorthodox bassline. It's a good primer for the elegiac guitar instrumental "King Me," which offers further proof that the Multiple Cat may in fact be a cat of the jazz variety, rather than a litter box-using couch-hogger.

In the years to come, the current trend of musical cross-pollination will hopefully yield better, stronger genres, and bands that are able to probe those realms of music that have yet to be tapped for potential. I'd love to be able to say that the Multiple Cat is one of those bands, but I have to admit that they're not exactly Kirk and crew going boldly where no man has gone before. As it is, though, the Multi-cats have quietly unleashed another mostly successful musical genetic experiment on the indie world, and it doesn't sound exactly like anything else you'll hear. Dolly's got nothing on that.

-Joe Tangari