The Catch, Excuses For Kings, 2021
Tracks: Daedalus And The Angel (3:14), Circus (3:19), Riches To Rags (6:03), Real Love In The Modern World (2:55), What In The World (3:59), Leviathan (7:49), Find Another Way (5:10), Excuses For Kings (8:05), Last One To Leave (2:01)
First off, I’ve been sitting on the debut album from UK band The Catch for too long, so my sincere apologies to the band, who graciously sent me their CD Excuses For Kings for review quite a while ago. I have been listening to and enjoying it ever since I received it. It has an aesthetic that reminds me of some of the music on the Bad Elephant Music label or music from Cosmograf (Robin Armstrong) and his new label, Gravity Dream Music. The vocals even remind me of Progarchy’s very own Dave Bandana.
The music might best be described as a combination of the dominant progressive sounds of both the 1970s and the 1980s. There are synth overtones, but the electric guitar plays a primary role along with upbeat drums playing a steady rock rhythm. The band is a two person group made up of singer-songwriter Robert Williams and guitarist Donovan Baine.
Williams provides vocals, guitars, bass, and programming – presumably synths and drums. If the drums really are all programmed, then they are some of the better sounding programmed drums I’ve heard in a while. I’m not usually a big fan of programmed drums, but these didn’t stick out to me at all. They have a natural sound. With that said, I’ll always encourage a band to find a real drummer if at all possible.
The combination of prog technicality with excellent songwriting make this an enjoyable record on repeated listens. The lyrics are dense, telling a stories that reflect on our crumbling society. Williams packs a lot into each song, and he often (but not always) sings rather rapidly, so there will always be more to uncover on repeated listens. Perusing the lyrics in the booklet will help in that regard.
Real love in the modern world
Freedom from the cursed career of Albion
To live in the mortal realm
To feel the air and bless the ground we walk uponAn on, moving into the sun, seekers of the permanent one
– “Real Love In The Modern World”
The highly poetic lyrics are not only well-written, but they are also rather profound. There is a lot of religious, historical, and mythological imagery. We’re forced to consider how we think we’ve come so far, when in reality we’ve fallen from great heights:
Once we ferried stone
From Memphis to Cairo
Now we sit in traffic instead
Moving by stars and trash spewed from cars
Strewn up and down this highway tonight– “Excuses For Kings”
This is just a taste of what you can expect in the musical and lyrical journey in Excuses For Kings. The fast-paced music whisks the listener away on this voyage, with upbeat rhythms and smooth guitars keeping your interest along the way. It’s a enjoyable listen from start to finish, and I highly recommend you check it out.
The best place to buy the record is from their website, where you can buy a CD-quality download or pick up the CD. The CD comes in a nice digipack with a bit of a mystical album cover showing ancient or medieval ruins morphing into the horrid-looking high-rise condos that desecrate modern cities. The disc also comes with a booklet featuring all the lyrics.
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