Named after the resident ginger in the band and not having anything to do with the Hunger Games, Nottinghams’ Catch Fire alight the groovy train with their debut EP The Distance I Am From You (TDIAFY), featuring a depressingly candid but intense attitude that forgets to let its hair down on a journey through pop rehab.
This debut doesn’t offer up much fun in the socio-politcal game of life. Some say that punk is not dead, but it’s certainly being helped along on a cart. The lyrics on TDIAFY belligerently address pity with a passive aggressive tone which often inspires the feeling of being condescended or infantilized. The emo-angst driven on the EP is a pungent reminder of its persecution, and the cultural appropriation of punk is, for want of a better term, almost given the Kumbaya treatment; but harder.
The Distance I Am From You is a generous dollop of pop-rock that assumes dejection is a de facto right, but disregard the stolid narrative and there’s a pretty straight forward musical approach that could do with some recognition. Veering past the language barrier the music has some heavy and dirty colours mixed in with a chance of sunshine and compositionally sound, the EP does showcase the versatility Catch Fire possesses. It’s a shame that the mainstream recklessly destroyed the rock start.
7/10
