By Monk
The name Chris Catalyst should be as familiar to even the most passive of ÜR readers as your favourite pair of underpants – and if it isn’t, then you either don’t wear underpants or have been living in a state of rock ‘n’ roll-starved stasis for the better part of the past decade. After all, he is one of the hardest working men in Yorkshire, popping up more frequently than yer man in those bothersome internet adverts, having been involved at one time or another or in one shape or another with bands such as The Sisters Of Mercy, Ugly Kid Joe, Mariachi El Bronx and Terrorvision, as well as finding time to record and tour with his own band of troubadours, The Eureka Machines… It’s a work ethic he has continued during the various lockdowns, with a seemingly incessant stream of live streams and podcasts to both entertain us in our darkest hours but also convince us to part with thousands of our hard-earned (and, in many cases, dwindling) pounds to aid various charities – and, in between all of this, he’s also found the time to put together this, his inspirational second solo album…
The album opens with the somewhat anomalous ‘Make Good Art’, which takes from a 2012 speech by the artist/writer Neil Gaiman and features the author himself, his words contrasted with an understated Prodigy-style industrial-EDM selection of beats and loops, which draw out the inspirational acidity of Gaiman’s words (especially given the Government’s lack of support for the arts sector during the recent crisis) while not overpowering their message.
To be honest, though, that declarative opening track is something of a contrast with the, by and large, bright and breezy collection of power pop ditties that follows, from the Wildhearts-evoking jumpstart of ‘King Of Everything’ and the reverential Beatles-worshipping psychedelic jauntiness of ‘Divide And Rule’ (a line such as “the Norwegians would” just oozes pure songwriting classicism), which kick off a collection which coalesces Catalyst’s eclectic and encyclopaedic of pop rock’s heritage, with plenty here to keep the musical trainspotter focussing their binoculars for hours, nay weeks, on end… The jangly Madchester-style indie pop of ‘Never Going To Change’ sits comfortably alongside effervescent power pop anthemics of the likes of the irony-strewn ‘Happy’ or ‘A Modern Adventure’, the latter of which would sit comfortably alongside the likes of Ginger and co.’s ‘I Wanna Go…’
One of the highlights, if not THE highlight, is the beautifully delivered ‘I’m Not Okay’: as it’s title suggests, it sees Catalyst addressing the subject of “heartache hiding in plain sight” (to quote the opening line). It’s a feeling which far too many of us have experienced, especially in the recent past, but, unlike many artists, Catalyst does not address it in a way which comes across as either self-pitying or preachy (“I’m not a judge, there is no crime”), but rather with the warm embrace of a friend reaching out and saying “I know what you’re going through”, the joyous vibe of the song sounding a suitable note of optimism…
Unforgivably, ‘Kaleidoscopes’ lay gathering dust in my inbox for almost two months, which is a way summarizes some of the subjects which Catalyst addresses in this hugely personal album, not least the way events and life various disasters and traumas overtake us and our best intentions to get things done… However, now that I’ve finally got around to listening to it, in full and on multiple occasions, I have a feeling that this is an album to which I will consistently return, if only in terms of listening to individual tracks, when I need one of those all-important uplifts which have been so missing from life recently…
- ‘Kaleidoscopes’ is out now. You can get your copy, and loads of other lovely Chris Catalyst goodies, including acoustic and demo versions of the album, HERE.
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