The Tyrants Help Build Us

Just how good were Catfish & the Bottlemen?

Many have been critical of Catfish, including myself. Sometimes the criticism is fair and at other times it is completely unjustified. Yes they may have made virtually the same album 3 times and in there own words 'stayed inside the box' but they also went on to become one of the UK's best live bands and give us one of the best debut albums of the last decade. 

'The Balcony' came out 9 years ago, all the way back in 2014. In a time where guitar music was in a bit of a lull. Arctic Monkeys had made a come back the year before with the smash hit 'AM' and a little band from Manchester would release their self titled debut (The 1975) but there was nothing to shout about.

For a debut album, it's a very good collection of songs, in fact I'd argue the vast majority of the bands best and biggest hits are on this record. From 'Homesick to 'Cocoon' all the way through to 'Tyrants' these songs have become synonymous with the band and also that time. 

As a whole the album doesn't let up it's a relatively short album with a run time of just over 37 minutes, yet there is 11 songs, and there's not one weak track. Even the album tracks are strong. Maybe not as strong as the singles but they are still great songs in their own right. This pacing, and fast paced feel of the album and the band themselves was something the UK hadn't seen a long time. 

The songwriting is not avaunt guard or complex, it's about love, loss, being young, and that's why people came along for the ride (excuse the pun). A generation of music fans attached themselves to these songs. Including myself. I was at an age where I started to explore new music and Catfish were one of the first bands I fell in love with, and this album is the main reason. Listening to it today all these years later it still stands up.

Catfish have always been good live as well and I suppose that is where the songs come to life. 'The Balcony, The Ride and The Balance' are not albums you sit and listen to, and discet the lyrics or the instrumentation. 'Cocoon' '7' and 'Conversation' are songs that you chant in an arena, festival field or bar with your best mates though. Perhaps that's what Catfish always wanted to do, make us sing, dance and jump. 

They were criticised for sticking to a formula and I can see why in my opinion the albums got weaker, however I admire the commitment, the commitment to the black and white artwork, the single word song titles, having each album being called 'the' it was a style that they embraced. However I also wish that they had deviated from the path a little more. Given us more songs like 'Hourglass' or 'Heathrow.' Experimented a little  but what they did seemed to work, critics disagreed but i don’t suppose they were too bothered when thousands of people were singing your songs back to you every night.

'The Balcony' saw a band with the world at their feet it's a shame that they couldn't make it work, I mean it all ended in a field in Warrington not exactly a blaze of glory. However they gave us some great songs and without Van, Bondy, Benji and Bob would the door be open for Wolf Alice, DMA's, Circa Waves, Blossoms, Gerry Cinnamon, Sam Fender, Royal Blood. 

Catfish breathed the 'Oxygen' into a new scene. Without them who knows what would have happened.

Thank you for reading x