Catfish and The Bottlemen – The Balance

The cognoscenti all say that rock is dead or at least dying, yet there are still plenty of new and growing rock bands out there these days....
Catfish and The Bottlemen : The Balance
7.4 Capitol
2019 

Catfish and The Bottlemen : The Balance

The cognoscenti all say that rock is dead or at least dying, yet there are still plenty of new and growing rock bands out there these days. True, it’s not 1976 and hip-hop has taken the cultural lead, but there’s still a wide market for electric guitars. The real problem is that too often it seems the successful new acts are just retreads of the old, or so middling of sound as to be interchangeable and forgettable. While Wales’ Catfish and The Bottlemen aren’t going to be confused for the second coming of The Beatles, The Balance stands out as really enjoyable Brit Rock.

With energy and meaning, not attitude or pretension, The Balance scratches that itch for new rock. There’s the fun opener “Longshot”, and the great indie-press into something bigger “Sidetrack”. There might not be your new anthem on the album, but you’ll remember it after its done, which is more than can be said for a lot of today’s rock-n-rollers. The British edge, leaning quality over quantity, definitely helps.

So no, Catfish and The Bottlemen aren’t going to ‘save rock’ or play stadiums for the next forty years. But it’s great that acts are still making great rock.

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