The Catch – Get Cool
Label: Made in Mexico Records
Style: Power Pop, Post Punk, Alternative Rock
Released: 2005
My Grade: 4.5 stars
AMG: n/a
Sounds like: Bjork, Veruca Salt, Blondie, Liz Phair


These girls want to kiss you, and then promptly kick your ass into next Tuesday. Like a blast of fresh air in the stale world of modern female rockers, The Catch have arrived to sweep you off your feet while giving you a bloody nose and you will fall in love all over again.

I don’t know what I was expecting when I received this in the mail, nothing I had read, researched or talk to anyone about really clarified what these Seattlites would be – luckily they are shattering the mold of droopy mope-rock and sunny day am pop with this sassy (and surprisingly fresh) blast of power pop.

Imagine what would have happened if Veruca Salt lost that glossy corporate sheen, or if Bjork decided to just rock rock, imagine if you will what would happen if Courtney Love didn’t suck or if Pep Squad was still around; if you can imagine any of that then you have a good guess what The Catch sound like.

I think the sudden lack of good hard female rock in the US has fueled my love for this band, when Le Tigre collapsed into seventies disco-isms, The Donnas add some extra sickenly sweet candy to their music and Courtney Love being…well Courtney Love; I had almost completely lost hope for hearing something original and fun. Sure there were plenty of girls playing radio friendly ‘safe’ rock (pointing the finger at Garbage, Tsunami Bomb and the Distillers), or playing the typical folk – ‘faux’ – punk (PJ Harvey), but no one was having fun anymore.

So I welcome salvation.

Sometimes singer Carly Nicklaus sounds oddly like a punked out Bjork, but she has warped herself into a category all itself, and don’t let it scare you – because its beautiful; she wraps herself into the blanket of music created by keyboardist Amy Rockwell, and the amazing rhythm section of Jenny Jimenez (bass) and Alissa Newton (drums), somehow everything clicks and explodes into just the right amount.

From the opening track, straight through the ending, there is enough punch, sass, bitterness and love to consume you and pull you down to their level up in the sky. “After Party” closes the album out and sounds like, you guessed it, an after party, it is sweltering and fast, but slow and chaotic and like any runway models nightmare, it burns the song into your skull, keep humming.

So to be absolutely short and too the point – go buy this album. Throw a party, and make out with someone beautiful while listening to the melodies playing through your speakers; this music is for life, enjoy it.

Reviewed by: Samuel Aaron

Official Website: thecatchmusic.com