:: Paper Scissors Stone

Catatonia

We are in a position here of reviewing possibly Catatonia’s last ever work together. Lead singer Cerys Matthews has just announced that she is leaving the band. Her troubled year of self-inflicted torment had seen her pull out of most of the promotional activity and touring for this new album. Resultant sales were much less than expected and it sent Cerys into sheer disappointment. It’s a terrible shame because they have been a fine, charismatic band with her leading from the front, in the true sense. This album contains the typical Catatonia ingredients of melody, charm, sniggering at authority, great guitar riffs, and Cerys’s wonderfully unique voice. One single was released, “Stone By Stone”, and that showed their invigorating style to good effect. Other interesting tracks are “Village Idiot”, with a real stylish verve, and “Beautiful Loser”, which accentuated the band’s overall talent well. It was the girly, sometimes harsh, style of Cerys Matthews that had won over crowds and they were amongst Britain’s most loved bands for several years. This is still a good album for fans by which fans can remember them.