They've been the local standard bearers of quirky, cool rock music since they emerged in 2002, and after a few quiet years 22 Cats are back with a new album and eager to again show why they're the band to watch.
The band - comprising singer-guitarists Chan Lam-por and Chan Kwun-kit, bassist Chan Wing-yin and drummer Tin Lap-for - combine noisy guitar pop with experimental programming, and their return has been eagerly awaited by their many followers.
Rewind to 2004, when their debut album, All the Good People Will Shine, was released to critical and underground acclaim. With radio support and a series of celebrated live shows, including a super-charged set at the inaugural Rockit Festival, things were seemingly on the ascent for the band. But then everything went quiet.
'We've been focusing on our recordings during the past few months,' Tin says. 'We haven't really had a break, although we did feel we needed some time away. Maybe audiences wouldn't notice our musical evolution if they kept seeing us play every month. We wanted to make this return more of an event.'
They're marking their return with the follow-up album She Will Eat You, which was recorded between September last year and April.
'The approach for recording the album was almost the same as for the last one, only this time we had better equipment,' says Chan Kwun-kit.
Released on Harbour Records - the local imprint that's also home to acts such as False Alarm and My Little Airport - She Will Eat You will be in shops from Monday.