Not for the first time in their career, Catfish & The Bottlemen are closely followed by rumours of their demise. Widely-spread whisperings of a split were quashed in 2017, but theyâve reared their head again in recent weeks with the Twittersphere and tabloids claiming that the Llandudno lads will go their separate ways after their series of upcoming summer shows, headlining Reading & Leeds this weekend before rolling onto Swanseaâs Singleton Park and Warringtonâs Neighbourhood Weekender next month. NME approached a Catfish spokesperson for the response, but they were unable to respond.
âOne of our longshots paid off,â sings frontman Van McCann on opener âLongshotâ from 2019âs âThe Balanceâ â a heartening notion for most bands who dream of headlining the hallowed stage of Reading. As he later pines on 2016âs âSoundcheckâ from âThe Rideâ: âBecause you grew up in a small town / You’ll appreciate it moreâ. Circle pits swirl and the vast crowd grows a little more feral, and itâs easy to see how Catfish became one of Britainâs biggest guitar bands. Theyâre slick as fuck; a well-oiled machine of indie proficiency. Their songs are at times invigorating, rushing through a checklist of stadium rock crowd-pleasing tick boxes.
Take âConversationâ. It has an old-school warming indie charm, inviting a whole lot of crowdsurfing and arms aâwaving, but it smacks of rock dinosaur era Oasis when by its closing drawl and wig-out. ‘Outside’ makes for a Reading-ready gnarly romp, but thereâs a bit too much wankery in the extended drum solo and psych-y breakdown on âBusinessâ for it to make a connection. At times in the set, itâs like watching Motley Crue covering The Cribs, or at least some session musicians covering Catfish & The Bottlemen.
âThank you for letting us headline,â says McCann, introducing penultimate song â7â before ending on early favourite âCocoonâ. Catfish are crowdpleasers for sure, and for their knack of that they deserve credit. Thereâs no grand farewell announcement during their Main Stage West performance at Reading on the opening Friday, but there is the sense of a band racing through the motions. It’s all a bit too mechanical, with not enough heart. Stormzyâs headline set follows on the opposite main stage, and feels like a much more raucous and momentous affair. Thatâs not to take away from the good time given to the Catfish crowd, it just felt like the party was over on stage.
Check back at NME all weekend for more reviews, news, interviews, photos and more from Reading & Leeds 2021.Â
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