THE BALCONY: the beginnings of a Catfishy domination

for fans of: Circa Waves, Foo Fighters, Cage The Elephant, Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon

(creds: gigwise)

It's likely that if you've visited any decent festival over the summer, you'd have glanced at the name Catfish and the Bottlemen somewhere on the bill. While perhaps curling your lips at such an unusual name, you may not have realised that these adolescent heroes would have drawn one of the most over-subscribed crowds at your festival. Catfish and the Bottlemen are perhaps 2014's most hotly-tipped act, and are searching the skies for a rocket launch into the spotlight.

Though they've been touring dingy clubs across the UK and US, their breakthrough LP The Balcony is evidence that the North Wales quartet are not set out for small-time success. Packed to the brim with teenage woes and angsty choruses, Catfish and the Bottlemen's debut has a lot of hype to live up to as it is doubtlessly the most highly anticipated British album of the year. Over the past 12 months, they've released a string of well-received singles that subtly appeared on the radars of critics and young devotees alike, truly proving that mainstream rock and roll is quickly making its way back onto the airwaves. So have Van, Bondy, Bob, and Benji (don't they just sound like a Cbeebies programme?) lived up to the hype that has surrounded rock's newest darlings?

Well, to start, there's no front-man quite like Van McCann. A restored version of Homesick is the ideal album opener: an effortless showcase of his raspy and ever on-point vocals that continue to grow as the album progresses. Homesick loudly leaves a confident precedent about what to expect before the record ends. And what we can expect is percussion mad verses a la Pacifier which are rhythmically fundamental to these typical indie rock tracks. However, many of the songs can be a tad over-produced as that essential bass line is often seen to slither under the rubble.

(me + 'the Bottlemen' - hair game so strong)

Outstanding fan favourite Rango is the ultimate portrait of Catfish and the Bottlemen: more of those divine, lusty McCann vocals alongside an equilibrium of the stormy and the raw elements of the band's spry sound. It's roaring crescendo defines the reason crowds flock to their live shows: CatB's music was made to be moshed to. This is echoed in that wily Kathleen, who is as turbulent as ever - eternally laced with pure anger, it's a track crafted especially for you to scream your heart out to, which is essentially why these songs could become as classic as Mr Brightside.

As the swagger of the characters imagined in Fallout transcends into cheeky lyrics in the song's latter half (see I / I was a test tube baby / that's why nobody gets me / see I / struggle to sleep at night but it's fine / Mary don't let me), the humour and loopy infectiousness of Business emblazon just how Catfish and the Bottlemen have connected with their mostly juvenile audience: through a mutual love of casual crushes and booze. The Balcony can do nothing more but create a bigger aura of adoration around them and, because of their unadulterated loveabilty, they've somehow become the people's band and an important soundtrack to our coming-of-age generation.

Their most recent single Cocoon has more of a cordially defeated vibe than the embittered animosity of it's predecessors, with harmonious vocals acting as a sugar coating to the frustrated drums. Yet the midway acoustic-driven Hourglass cannot help but be very, very, very Luke Pritchard - hopelessly romantic and wonderfully naff. The tough unplugged guitar gives the airy lyrics the confidence it needs to knock Seaside out in a fight.

The Balcony's farewell effort seems to be the most musically strong of the album: Tyrants is dark and thundering. Spiralling guitars eclipse the juttering ones of previous track Sidewinder which, along with the clean riffs of 26, seem to get lost in the chaos of the rest of the album. It's lucky that Tyrants and it's abrupt end were on hand to leave first-time listeners hungry for more of Van's consistently impeccable and unmatchable vocals.

It's quite safe to say that the success of Catfish and the Bottlemen could soon be comparable to last year's British breakthrough The 1975, and perhaps one day they'll even match that of bona fide legends Arctic Monkeys, though they've failed musically to offer anything completely organic. What they are is very well written standard garage rock. There've been hundreds of bands just like them, and there'll be hundreds more, but maybe because they're so simpatico, they've been able to bottle (ahhhhhhhhhhhh) their luck quite contrary to any of their counterparts. And we cannot wish a more genuine, humble, and simply talented band any more of our undying support.

the BABE Van and I at the Banquet Records album release show (this was my third time seeing them [and I'll be seeing them at KOKO in November!] following their apperances at Latitude and Reading - where I collided into Van walking around the main arena wheyyyyyyy)

BUY CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN'S MONSTROUS DEBUT ALBUM ' THE BALCONY'

//BANQUET//
//ROUGH TRADE//
//OFFICIAL STORE//
//ITUNES//

betty and the not-so-subtle art of copycatting

cop·y·cat (n.) informal - one that closely imitates or mimics another

They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery; that if someone copies you it should be taken as a compliment of crown accord. Perhaps the herds of sheep gagging to dress/talk/look/be like the kewwwlest person you know should give the aforementioned awesome guy/gal tingling feelings of bashfulness and unadulterated power. This would suggest that the concrete embodiment of flattery is having your very own dupe be stuck to you like a shadow. However, the truth is that it's actually pretty annoying - something that matches irritation levels of having gum residue still glued to the sole of your shoe despite the absence of the actual gum itself.

But first, let me get something straight: there is a huge difference between being inspired by an individual, or buying the same clothes as your friend and actually attempting to become a reincarnation of the person whom you so idolise. As human beings we absorb the energies of those whom we admire and feed off of their auras in order to incorporate what's so great about others into ourselves. It is only in our nature to want to improve our own semblances in the mirror of others so that we too are as kind and cool and intelligent as them. Yet that's where we should draw the line, for in an age of distinctiveness what's the use in becoming a sheep? I noticed it a lot when I was in rural-surburban America over the summer: everyone dresses the same. Why?

I'm also not saying that I'm copied a lot - which I'm not at all, like if you want to copy the clothes I wear/the music I listen to/the ways in which I choose to spend my free time I assure you that you're setting yourself up for a lifetime of uncoolness - but, yes, I will put my hands up and say this post was created with the intention of being biographical of a certain someone (who, of course, shall remain utterly anonymous). And I guess if said person, let's call her Betty, was just modelling herself off of myself this post could (and maybe it does, and if it does I'm truly sorry) come off as bitchy and conceited but when Betty's copying everything from her dialect and lingo to the shoes on her feet from different people, I gotta step in and be all "Betty, don't be a wasteman".

In a social media age it's easy to masquerade as someone you're not. It's now easier than ever for clones to thrive in a world that's now online and exposed for all to see; it's a breeding ground for copycats. For example, it's gotten to the point where Betty will copy social media posts word for word and pass them off as her own pioneering thought when it's not and that's just so not chill. Haven't you ever heard of plagiarism, Betty? Didn't your English teacher ever tell you that if words are not your own that you must place them in quotation marks? Honestly Betty, it's really pissing me off. I've never heard you mention that band that girl in your class loves that you claim to be so "proud" of, or used phrases like "pixie aesthetic" (whatever the fuck that is) before you started following that other girl. Why can't you be happy being you? I'm not saying to not follow the latest trends or to not listen to "mainstream" music, but when your whole personality isn't actually true to yourself, then you know there's a problem. Because there's nothing wrong with conforming to a type, but just don't let that type become you.

The book I'm currently reading is a gorgeous Japanese novel called Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. It's enchanted me so much that I've breezed through a lot of it in less than a day and as I sat reading today, a particular quote stood out like a sore thumb (and ohhhh the irony, honestly):

"If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking."

I think it really emphasises how important it is to be true to yourself in a world so bland and full of bandwagons. Go outside and think about stuff and issues and everyday life; don't listen to what the media or your Twitter feed tells you - how do you think the world can be improved? Could you be a pioneer of your generation? I promise you that you can if you take the words of Murakami into your stride and quit doing what everyone else is doing and have a little bit of thought for yourself.

It's sad that it seems that some people feel that to be happy in life that they must live it through the lives of someone else - through someone else's creative outlet, or choice of literature, or way they style their hair - when the person they truly are has the potential to be groundbreakingly amazing. As the human race is unfortunately just that - a race - it doesn't take much to slip into the blur and mists of being the same as everyone else and end up joint last.

I guess in a blog which usually attempts to influence the opinion and taste of it's readers, to turn that back around and say "hey, stop copying me you little fuckass" seems highly hypocritical and a lil bit mean. However, I think the point of this was not to disparage people from becoming a sheep (though that is something you should think about avoiding) but rather encourage even just one person to step away out of the shadow of someone else. You were born out of original DNA, there is no one else on Earth quite like you. We're not all American Apparel zombies, embrace that.