PHOTO CREDIT: Jill Fumanovksy
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY TRIPLE J, MAY 2019

The Welsh rockers continue to be champions of the genre's longevity on third album The Balance.

Catfish and The Bottlemen are a band who know who they are. Over the course of three celebrated records, they’ve embraced an indie rock space that is defined by chugging guitars, anthemic lyricism, and Rockstar charm. They’re relatable to the point where all of their songs are singalongs, but they’re also powerful pedestalled performers - just far enough out of their audiences’ reach to make them an international rock commodity.

Sold out tours around the world, huge festival performances, and a fiercely loyal global fanbase have earmarked the band of bastions of modern indie rock, and they serve it up super well on album number three.

It’s a record heaped with hallmarks from a band who dare to double-down on what works, rather than throw away the playbook to write a narrative of reinvention. Which begs the question: when you know your formula and you love the music you're making, does a lack of wild experimentation matter?

On The Balance, Catfish and The Bottlemen prove that it doesn't.

The band exude athleticism and confidence, following on from sessions in the UK with producer Jacknife Lee (The Killers, Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club). You can hear a genuine love for these songs – whether they’re laying the riffs on thick, or moving through moments of introspection and vulnerability like on standout tracks '2All' and 'Longshot'. It’s already begun to translate to the band’s live shows:

"'Fluctuate', I love playing that song live," frontman Van McCann told triple j's Ben and Liam recently. "The singles, we like those songs, but the ones off the album that aren't necessarily singles, we're loving those."

The uplifting and optimistic nature of 'Longshot', as well as the grunge nuances present on 'Conversation' and 'Basically', are prime examples of Catfish and The Bottlemen's stylistic strengths. Not since the heyday of Kasabian and early-era Arctic Monkeys has there been a British rock band who has harnessed such palpable energy, teased on an album and full realised on the live stage.

"We've never had a one-off tune," McCann told Billboard in 2017. "When you come to a show you'll see that they [the audience] sing the whole album word for word, both albums now. I think we're at a place where we can properly appreciate it and grab it and run with it."

It’s true – in spite of criticism that the band “played it safe” on second record The Ride, the band have actually played it to significant success. “Running With It” appears to be part of the Catfish and The Bottlemen ethos, as the band have crafted bodies of work that thrive on consistency and coherence.

"The whole album, the artwork, the titles and the tracklisting; it's like the Rocky box set." McCann told Ben and Liam. "By the time Five and Six come out, you've got the full collection and you can all link up."

Keeping this in mind, it’s fair to ask what the larger Catfish and The Bottlemen picture look like. Following the Rocky analogy, perhaps there will come a time when reinvention will inject life and longevity to a proven and popular formula; but because The Balance does sound so alive and so current, it’s pretty clear that that time isn’t now.

They've aimed higher within the bounds of arena-primed indie rock on The Balance - 'Sidetrack' is sure to be set staple - without throwing in any alienating left hooks, or bolo punches.

As a matter of fact, taken as a statement album, The Balance sure feels like a defiant reply to the criticism that followed The Ride.

Catfish and The Bottlemen have reinforced their identity and struck a balance between the endearing songrwriting that first connected them with the pub crowds of their early days, and the huge, stadium sounds the band is fast becoming associated with and considering the norm.

The band has all the ingredients in place to produce rock music that will last, and when indie music takes its next turn back towards rock belter territory, Catfish and The Bottlemen are bound to be at the forefront with more new music to brandish.

"Simple things, get them right," McCann sings on album track 'Mission'. "You'll have enough to last your life."

Case in point.

PHOTO CREDIT: Michelle Grace Hunder
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY TRIPLE J, OCTOBER 2018

"When people say they don't read the comments, they're lying."

You might remember Ruel's impactful presence on M-Phazes' Like A Version session last year? Perhaps you've been getting in your feelings over his hit singles 'Younger' and 'Dazed and Confused'?

When it comes down to it, it's that huge soulful voice that has brought the 15 year old Sydneysider a huge amount of acclaim in a short period of time. With a headline Australian tour already underway, and highly anticipated European tour dates before the year is out, Ruel has certainly been thrust into a spotlight not many teenagers can relate to.

For Ruel, traversing the often bumpy terrain that is the social media-dominated community is all about percentages. When it comes to dealing with the pressures of maintaining a presence online and in doing so, dealing with online trolling, Ruel's got his own way of managing.

"I’ve never had a problem with being offended with that stuff," he says. "I think I’m pretty lucky. It might be the way I’ve been brought up by my parents or the environment I’ve been in; growing up I didn’t have the greatest friends and the greatest of experiences and I guess that toughened me up for this. When it’s online, I turn it off. Close your eyes. I feel it’s a lot easier to get away from. That might just be me and I can understand why people find it a lot harder, but I haven’t had a huge problem with that."

"When people say they don’t read the comments, they’re lying." he asserts. "Everyone reads the comments, whatever status you’re at. You can’t avoid it. It’s just the way you take them and the way you see it, is the only way you can ignore the hate. You’ve got to put it into perspective, how many people are giving you compliments and how many people are giving you negative comments. When 70% are giving you compliments and 30% aren’t, don’t sweat it at all."

This week will have Ruel back on the road with the Ready EP, after completing a sold out show at The Corner Hotel in Melbourne and heading west to Perth last weekend. Fan footage from those shows are mixture of raised phones, screams, huge sing along sessions and at the centre of it all, a 15 year old simply living his best life.

"As a kid, when you think of being a singer travelling around the world, you think of just the great things." Ruel says. "Getting money, living in mansions, playing to fans. When I was really young, that’s all I thought it was."

"I’ve just noticed how much more it is than that. Obviously I’m still at the very start of my career, but it’s definitely changed in terms of my fans. I try to do a meet and greet after every show for no extra charge. I try and go through the whole crowd and meet everyone who bought a ticket because they bought a ticket to see me – I want to meet them, I want to talk to them. When I talk to them, it’s really cool because when they’re chill, we just have a conversation. It’s not just me having a wall between my fans, it’s cool to almost have a bunch of friends who I can hang out with after a concert."

Ruel's debut EP Ready has accumulated over 50 million streams, while each of his music videos are sitting on a combined view count that exceeds four million. Get him talking about being approached to play Tyler, The Creator's Camp Flog Gnaw festival, and Ruel's response is what you'd expect - "It's a dream come true".

A quick Twitter search will show fans urging Ruel collaborations with fellow young-names-of-the-moment in Khalid, Shawn Mendes and Billie Eilish, while if you search his name on Instagram, you'll quickly notice the amount of fan accounts that have been created for the singer off the back of successful tours of the US and more recently, Japan.

"The first time I was there, I had no idea I had anything close to a fanbase there." he remembers.

"As soon as I got to the hotel, there were fans waiting there giving gifts, little scrapbooks that they’d made. I was so surprised. I was thinking to myself, ‘I wonder what the show’s going to be like now?’ and it was a lot different to what I thought!"

"When I went on stage…they weren’t silent, but they weren’t crazy at all. They were a very respectful audience. Someone told me that if you draw a line between a Japanese fanbase and their biggest idol, and told them not to cross it? No one would. They’re so respectful."

Ruel credits his family and tour team with anchoring him in the midst of what's felt like a tornado of action; having his parents and sisters on the road with him at times has further ensured that he remains centred - definitely still the little brother.

"They’re always going to keep me grounded, no matter what happens." he says. "I’m just around good people and they’re my family. I won’t be getting too big for my boots!"

The lasting effect Ruel's family has had on him and his musical choices even continues to show itself today.

"My dad’s love for music, he’s a huge music nerd," he says. "He’s just influenced me with so many great artists I resonated with at a young age. So much soul, R&B and jazz music. Everything that makes you feel. That’s just resonated with me for a long time. He set up guitar lessons for me when I was 8, actually."

"In this new era of music, I really think it’s about modernising older genres. I feel like the best way to do that is to put young people who have been influenced by that music from a super young age, and take it into a different area. I think that’s what a lot of younger artists are doing [like Khalid] and I think that’s why they’re getting the attention."