Review: Longshot by Catfish and the Bottlemen
By Sophie Minello
“Every once in a while, the little things make me smile, as if one of our longshots paid off.”
This past Tuesday, the British indie band Catfish and the Bottlemen released their first single since their sophomore album in 2016. This is the kind of song that you can immediately picture in a live setting, which is what you’d expect from a band like Catfish. Within the three year period, the band has been busy touring the world, playing a large U.S. tour with the likes of Green Day and landing spots in big international festivals. The new single was well awaited by fans that has been following them for countless years along with fans that they’d picked up during their constant touring schedule.
Ever since their U.S. release of The Balcony in 2014, the band has been well off in taking over the world. “Longshot” seems like a personal account of how far the band has come. Having been a group since 2007 (with changing members, of course), they’ve reached well deserved new heights within the past few years. Along with the single, the band put out a fun video for the single, showing singer Van McCann driving to an abandoned looking stage at the seaside to play a rowdy show to a non-existent crowd.
The news doesn’t stop there though. There was also an announcement of a new U.S. tour within the months of March and April, their first time back touring in a year, especially as a headlining act. They’re going all over the place within a month, and they’re not a band to miss. Their songs are made to be heard live, as you get crushed in a small pit without feeling a single bit of discomfort. There’s something about the experience of Catfish and the Bottlemen that takes you out of reality for a moment, nothing matters but the performance.
The most exciting news, however, was their vague sign off in their emails. It reads, “We’ve got massive news coming soon so we’ll see you at one of our shows to celebrate x.” It’s not hard to guess that an album three announcement is in the near future… and maybe only one or two months in the future. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be sure to have “Longshot” on repeat as I await the news. Catfish and the Bottlemen were sure to start off 2019 with lots of plans in store.
Find Catfish and the Bottlemen: