Words: Dan Smith
Now, please tell me if I’m wrong, but the comeback of Catfish and the Bottlemen has been one of the worst planned comebacks ever.
I was on the phone with Harry earlier on when we were discussing this, and I hate to go back to them, but they really did miss a trick.
Flash your mind back to February, when posters began popping up around Manchester and London, the excitement was palpable. Now, there’s about as much excitement as 90 minutes of Gareth Southgate’s England. I just feel like they missed a trick I really do.
The momentum was there for them to propel themselves back into the forefront of indie-rock. They could have opened up publicly about the bands disputes and how they will move forward without Hall and Bond. What did we get instead? A mediocre comeback single and several gig announcements. Running short of funds were we Van?
Now don’t get me wrong, I’ll be the first one watching their set at Reading and Leeds when it hits the IPlayer, but this comeback could have been so much more. In February it was ‘Showtime’ and instead of running with that, it feels like the curtain has already dropped on ‘the comeback of the year’.
Where can the band feasibly go from here then? They have an incredibly loyal fan base and that hasn’t wavered despite the lack of communication over the past few years, so that won’t change. I just hope they grasp this opportunity and release some good music like they did when they burst onto the scene. Otherwise, I think it could be game over for The Bottlemen.
I would still like to see a Van McCann solo acoustic tour similar to the one Liam Fray has done a few times, just playing stripped back versions of the tunes we love as this would be a nice little earner for the man, and I think it would suit him well, but I can’t see this ever happening unfortunately.
Let me know what you think about Catfish’s comeback below or on our socials. Take care.
Rockstars HQ 
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