Stranger Cat

Stranger Cat came together as a captivating electro-pop duo in 2012, uniting Brooklyn-born Cat Martino—an enigmatic singer/songwriter whose commanding voice has featured in repeated close collaborations with Sufjan Stevens—with skilled multi-instrumentalist Sven Britt. Martino’s move away from lively Brooklyn toward the calm Sierra Nevadas prompted the pair to start shaping material for what became their first album, merging straightforward melodies with layered rhythms while absorbing the surrounding natural splendor and peculiar occurrences, including UFO sightings and hauntings, throughout the Pacific Northwest. Their fittingly titled debut, In the Wilderness, arrived as a potent surge of chilly, new wave-tinged ambient indie pop when Joyful Noise issued the record in early 2015.