Catch, The: Absence Of Light

Returning with their second outing, UK neo-prog duo The Catch find themselves with an Absence Of Light. However, as you travel through the nine tracks laid out here, that enigmatic title is contradicted by a set of songs that offer a huge amount of both light and shade. In fact I’d go as far as to suggest that it’s this ability that makes what The Catch specialise in just so memorable. Admittedly, great instrumentation and arranging skills don’t hurt either and neither does having a really engaging voice fronting it all.

The pair in question are Robert Williams on vocals, guitar, bass and programming and Donovan Baines on guitars, although the excellent backing vocals from Andy Smith and Hana M are also well worth highlighting. With Williams writing, producing, mixing and mastering the entire album you’d have to guess that he’s the guiding force of The Catch, and really it’s from his excellent compositional skills that this album first catches the eye. Lyrically, he is also exploring light and shade and the human need to search for truth, no matter how wise a course of action it proves to be.

“Tin Horses� opens proceedings, and while this band’s inspirations can still be found in the 70s and 80s prog scene, I’d say that it’s immediately apparent that the sound of this album has been pulled into a much more current neo-prog landscape. Now acts like Frost*, Lonely Robot and Pure Reason Revolution spring to mind, but more through the musical context, which still lies in catchy (natch) melodic prog rock with a pop sensibility. “When All The Raging’s Done� continues down the same path, but with a little more melancholy in the melody, however, it’s the lengthy “Closer To Midnight (All Hail The Sinner)� and even more weighty title track where this album truly stretches out and shows its breadth of attack. Williams is an excellent singer and one you could as easily imagine fronting a synth-pop band from the 80s as you can fitting in as expertly as he does here. Just as important, however, is the interplay between the guitars and the synths, and that is something not just confined to the longer songs, “In Two Minds�, “The Oyster Catcher� and the fabulously titled “The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress� full of almost as many twists and turns.

Two albums in for The Catch and there’s no sign of their standards slipping. If you have an interest in the current/neo-prog scene, this is definitely a band you should be checking out.

Track Listing
1. Tin Horses
2. When All The Raging’s Done
3. The Price
4. Sharks
5. Closer To Midnight (All Hail The Sinner)
6. In Two Minds
7. The Oyster Catcher
8. Absence Of Light
9. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress

Added: September 18th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: The Catch online
Hits: 516
Language: english

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