CATCHER – THE FAT OF A BROKEN HEART
Brooklyn’s Catcher have been attracting a lot of attention in the music media. This debut album of nasty but beguiling post punk shows this is well deserved.
Austin Eichler’s vocals combine the slurred delivery of Cerebral Ballzy’s Honor Titus with the emoting of a young Nick Cave. The guitars of Jack Young and Christian Reech are influenced as much by the no wave likes of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Sonic Youth and Swans as by post-punk. Violinist Zach Mezzo brings a welcome dissonance. Band founders and rhythm section Cameron McRae and Wilson Chestney provide a taught, muscular backbone.
A Good Man brings to mind The Birthday Party. If Idles swapped Boston for Brooklyn, Hunger might be the result. Behind A Bleeding Heart has shades of 90s alt.rockers Girls Against Boys. Yesterday’s Favorite and Cluster Flies both bring to mind Bauhaus, the latter adding The Gun Club to the mix. Fallen Stones is majestically gothic. Comparing Saviors And Friends could be a punkier Strokes. The howling, sleazy Only Advice comes on like The Mary Chain jamming Ministry’s Jesus Built My Hotrod. On the frantic thrash of Atlas P*ssing, it isn’t just the vocals that recall Cerebral Ballzy.
This is far from an easy listen but hell I like my music challenging and this is highly recommended.
8/10
