Catfish and the Bottlemen - Shipping Forecast, Liverpool, 3/11/2012

  by Harry Sherriff

published: 29 / 10 / 2012

intro

Harry Sherriff enjoys North Wales band Catfish and the Bottlemen's catchy indie guitar rock at a show at the Shipping Forecast in Liverpool

Catfish & the Bottlemen are a special band. This isn’t open for discussion. They are a proper guitar band with big riffs and catchy choruses. Simply put, they write very good songs. No keys, no synth, just straight up guitar with an edge of pop that makes you want to have the song on your iPhone. I hadn’t heard a second of Catfish's music before they walked on to the stage at the Shipping Forecast. It was the perfect intiation. The bound-to-be-massive band hail from North Wales and they’ve been gigging a lot the last 18 months. That fact is clear as soon as they kick into the first song. Not only are the band super tight but you can also hear every word of singer Van Mccann’s lyrics, in contrast to to many other supposedly up and coming bands which is a regular gripe with me. His vocals sound solid on the EP (that they gave away free at the gig) but I’d say his vocals were even stronger live. Not many frontmen can say that. The band are also making a big deal of social media, and with a hint of Arctic Monkeys about them they would be stupid not to. Van is a show man and really tries to give the crowd their moneysworth. Unlike a young Alex Turner he really uses the stage he’s given. Another unique thing to see, too many bands just stand still when the audience oame to see a show. You really know he loves what he’s doing, and in turn this makes for a better communal experience. The Bottlemen have already got a few celebrities as fans; Stoke striker Peter Crouch and model wife Abby Clancy were in attendance and with them singing their praises in recent months this has led to some press for the Llandudno lads. Exactly what they need more of. The Shipping Forecast gig and free EP (why don’t more bands do this?) has left me impressed, to the point where I’ve liked them on Facebook, recommended them to several friends and personally given the EP to two family members. It’s safe to say their fanbase is growing and with the amount of hardwork these guys put in it’s only going to continue. Catfish play like they’re playing to thousands. They’re preparing. The photographs that accompany this article were taken by Marie Hazelwood.

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