MUSIC PREMIERES
Eight Heaton Parks and 10 Wembley Stadiums – those are the shows rumoured for Oasis’ mega reunion tour next year. The combined capacity is more than the population of some countries, and yet it still doesn’t seem enough to meet the demand. Catfish And The Bottlemen, meanwhile – who co-headline Reading 2024 tonight ahead of the Liam Gallagher show said to break the news we thought we’d never hear – have more modest yet still wildly ambitious shows on their horizon.
When the Welsh indie stars recently announced plans for their first stadium gigs at Cardiff Principality and the Spurs ground, many took online to express doubt that they had the following and momentum to pull it off and fill ’em up. The last time Catfish topped the bill here was on a run of 2021 shows many believed to be their last. Twitter and tabloids spoke of their demise as the Welsh rock machine seemed to power down before a few years of silence. With no new music and no rise in profile, is a stadium run really the wisest move?
Well, as Jim Morrison said in Wayne’s World 2, “If you book it, they will come”. Do you believe in manifesting the big stuff? Catfish sure bloody do. Their opening song carries that spirit: “One of our longshots paid off”.
The band didn’t split the other year, but now frontman Van McCann and bassist Benji Blakeway are the only remaining full-time members after others fell away due to “entirely dysfunctional” relationships. What we’re left with here is a lean, mean, rock machine. Indie disco staple ‘Kathleen’ feels like it might lift the rammed front sections of Reading off the ground before sound issues force a halt. Even then, McCann, in his element, tries to gee up the crowd in full house party mode before a brief interlude. He bursts back on straight into the line “You’re simpaticooooo”, as if nothing had happened. Nothing is gonna get in their way tonight.
Inflatable crocodiles are dispersed for ‘Soundcheck’ as McCann flails and wails like Cobain, before ‘Pacifier’ gets the masses up on one another’s shoulders for the first of many times this evening. Here, as on ‘Taste’, there’s a snarling indie sensibility met with chest-beating arena bravado – as if The Cribs shed their punk edge, beefed up on riffs and adopted the The Killers‘s knack to rattle the eyeballs of the fans at the back. It’s indie sleaze turned up to 11.
They see where they’re headed. There’s a cheeky, brief nod to their stadium-dwelling countrymen Stereophonics with a snippet of ‘The Bartender And The Thief’, while the spotlight and theatrics of ‘2all’ show they’ve got the moves for the big spaces. The widescreen psych wig-out and breakdown of ‘Outside’ even has a smack of Pink Floyd to it. They’re playing with a damn sight more compulsion than last time, and they certainly know what an enormodome band should look, sound and feel like. The crowd before us lap it up. Will they multiply to fill those spaces? Maybe the long shot will pay off.
‘Longshot’
‘Kathleen’
‘Soundcheck’
‘Pacifier’
‘Twice’
‘Fallout’ (with snippet of Stereophonics’ ‘Bartender and the Thief’)
‘2all’
‘Homesick’
‘Rango’
‘Outside’
‘Fluctuate’
‘7’
‘Cocoon’
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MUSIC PREMIERES
Aphex Twin quietly shared two new songs on his SoundCloud account, surprising fans with the sudden upload.
Read More: Aphex Twin at Printworks, London: still one of the greatest electronic shows on earth
The tracks are called ‘Zahl am1 live track 1’ and ‘Zahl am1 live track 1c f760m1 unfinshd’. They seem to be two different takes on the same piece of music and were added to his page (username: user18081971) yesterday (November 27).
Both songs use cover photos that show the artist, real name Richard D. James, in the ocean with his partner. In the description for ‘Zahl am1 live track 1c f760m1 unfinshd’, he wrote, “Got many requests for this one from a few years back. Italy, pic with my love from Sicily recently. Need sun, relentlessly raining in the UK. Mixed down on the Zähl, think there are better mixes, will upload them if I find them.”
You can listen to the songs below:
The electronic musician’s most recent project was the 2024 compilation ‘From The Merch Desk (2016-2023)’, which also arrived without advance notice. It collects everything the celebrated producer and DJ had released through eight years of vinyl editions that fans could only get from the merch stand at his live performances.
The release followed a new expanded version of his 1994 album ‘Selected Ambient Works II’ in October for its 30th anniversary. His most recent full studio album is 2014’s Grammy Award winning ‘Syro’.
In 2025, Aphex Twin has put much of his attention into his work with streetwear brand Supreme. This has included creating a playlist for the company that features nearly 200 songs, most of which lean toward calm and slow moving styles.
