After an excruciating wait, Catfish and The Bottlemen return with the mighty ‘Soundcheck’. The song begins with only lead vocalist Van McCann, a simple guitar part and a high hat. Almost immediately the definitive lyric “I raced through soundcheck just to meet you” enters, conjuring similar lustful images to those found in The Kooks’ ‘She Moves In Her Own Way’. The song then builds gradually in anticipation for the chorus, an integral part of Catfish’s music. The infectiously catchy bridge transports us to the main event. The chorus begins “I wanted everything at once” and proves to be the sonic manifestation of this sentiment.
You can almost hear the crowd echoing these words already. Just when you thought the song had plateaued, yet another dimension is added, as the moody bridge section transforms into a cinematic guitar solo. ‘Soundcheck’ perfectly demonstrates the band’s ability to juxtapose sections of their songs to create enormously anthemic choruses. Another colossal song from Catfish and The Bottlemen.
Words by Frances Murray