It’s always good to remind oneself to never judge a book by its cover, or a band by its name. At first glance, Cat Ryan sounds like another pop-rock singer trying to marry indie with an electronic beat. Nothing’s wrong with that of course, but if you dig deeper, you will quickly discover that there is more to them than meets the eye.
First of all, Cat Ryan is not really a singer/songwriter. It is a trio consisting of Simon Tarbox, Lucas Rothwell and Mary-Anne Murphy and they have been making quite a racket around Newcastle area since forming in 2018. The band describes themselves as shoegaze art-bop with influences from Wolf Alice, The Japanese House, Youth Sector and CIEL. Surprisingly, this is a very fitting description.
Their first single “Mannerism” released earlier this year, gained the trio a recognition from leading music magazines and serious praise from Tom Robinson himself. The newly released ‘Blessed Through The TV’ is following the same winning formula – it has a catchy, upbeat melody, really strong atmospheric vibe and a 1980’s cold wave pop kick. If this song was recorded sometime in 1985, Alphaville or Kim Wilde would have another European number 1 to their name.
Back in 2020, the band is facing a lot of challenges during the strange times when venues are closing down and nobody is able to tour. But when times are hard, the music is usually excellent and Cat Ryan are proving this to be true.
Be on the look out, we can expect some interesting releases from them in the future.