The last time this writer saw Catfish & The Bottlemen, they were still cutting their teeth as a journeymen support band playing to a sparse crowd in a compact east London basement venue. Despite being a bunch of barely-knowns back then, they had a powerful presence and stage-swagger that suggested they were a band that would be satisfied with nothing less than superstardom.
And a little over two years later, here they are with a top 10 album that’s gone gold and a sprawling UK-wide tour that includes two sold out nights at London’s Brixton Academy. Not bad for a bunch of boyos from LLandudno - but then, Catfish & The Bottlemen were always much more than humble local lads got lucky.
From the moment the lights drop and a lengthy pause gives way to the band’s rousing walk-on track of ‘Helter Skelter’ by The Beatles, you get the feeling this is no mere performance - this is a full blown rock 'n roll production, and we should prep our collective minds for blowing.
The set kicks off with ‘Rango’, and immediately an amber shower of tossed beer cascades on to the heaving mass of Friday night revellers, here to sing out the sorrows and strains of the working week. The ever-hyperactive Van McCann commands the crowd to its feet for the band's second song, and as they launch into ‘Pacifier’ the roar is incredible, and for a moment it seems like Brit rock has never sounded bigger.
Though they’re not quite as regionally rugged as say, Biffy Clyro, Catfish are still a very British rock band - their sound being a blend of soaring guitar lead lines that Johnny Marr would be proud of and anthemic, bounce-along choruses akin to The Cribs’ own brand of good time rock 'n roll. Throw into the mix the rock grandeur of Springsteen and the pomp of The Killers and you’re pretty much there.
Each track tonight inspires an ear-splitting indie singalong, and you can’t help but be swept up by the passion that is conjured between band and fans. Catfish and the Bottlemen are a band for everyone - a band that are slick, tight and polished, and yet still feed off their crowd’s reaction and that chemistry is at its most effervescent when Van McCann is left on the stage alone by his band mates to strum out an aching and angst ridden rendition of ‘Hourglass’.
A three song encore of sorts sees them air new track ‘7’ which doesn’t quite set hearts alight with its thundering drums and haunting guitar melodies, but ‘Cocoon’ and ‘Tyrants’ finish things off in true anthemic style.
Catfish might not be a band who are breaking down musical boundaries, but they’re solid proof that the UK music scene is fostering homegrown talent that will be more than capable of picking up the mantle from the ageing rock acts that seem to dominate the summer’s headline slots.
