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71. The Ride - Catfish and the Bottlemen (2016)

Alternative Rock

Catfish and the Bottlemen have found a sweet spot at the convergence of vintage punk, 00’s emo and good old rock and roll. Their 2016 sophomore album, The Ride, shows them flexing a well-honed pop-punk acumen on every track, with candid and clever lyrics complementing the catchy melodies. The momentous lead single, “Soundcheck” is a simple love song devilishly disguised beneath a bristling electricity. A slow-building bridge wells up gradually as the alliteratively named lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Van McCann croons young wisdom to his newfound fling before crescendoing into a downright nasty solo that begs you to slide across the room on your knees along as you listen. But for all the tantalizing raucousness that’s come to define Catfish’s sound, the lyrics are the real gold. McCann’s seemingly effortless knack for gilding simple themes with wittiness and transparency elevate the songs to a unique space head and shoulders above a chronic monotonousness that has plagued so many punk rock contemporaries and predecessors.

The Welsh group underwent some major changes since their 2014 debut The Balcony, with then lead guitarist Billy Bibby departing the group suddenly and later being replaced by Johnny Bond. But the turbulence of the years preceding The Ride seem to have galvanized the evolving group, resulting in an impressive album that proves beyond a doubt that the success of The Balcony was no fluke. 

*image; cover art for the album The Ride by the artist Catfish and the Bottlemen