Music
Review
Catfish and the Bottlemen at Reading Festival, 25/08/2024
The Welsh rockers prove that, despite the hiatus, they have returned on top of their game
Catfish and the Bottlemen have just launched into ‘7’, opening track from 2016’s The Ride, when a girl moves through the crowd and introduces herself to the boy beside me. “Can I get on your shoulders for this one?” she asks, politely. He obliges. Around me, young people are pairing off in a similar way. Friends are hoisting friends into the air, but strangers are also hoisting strangers. People tuck drinks under their arms to help hold them steady. This is UK festival culture, and UK festival culture is Catfish and the Bottlemen.
From the very first languid “Go” (‘Longshot’), frontman Ryan ‘Van’ McCann has the collective adoration of the field at Little John’s Farm – which is both a wonderful thing and a necessary one, as it will sustain the band through a set which is not without its technical issues. Catfish are old hands, though. This is a group who have been woven into the culture of British teenager-dom since before many of the 16-year-olds here today had graduated primary school. When tech plays up, McCann is confident enough to declare “We don’t need it!” Whilst things get going again, he leads the field in an a cappella rendition of ‘Cocoon’ – and everyone knows every word.
It doesn’t take long for it all to get back on track, though, and after that it’s a steady stream of hits. Across their three albums, Catfish have enough field-uniting bangers to double their set in length – big numbers such as ‘Fallout’ and ‘2all’ lend themselves to a rowdy belt just as well as they do to McCann’s powerful vocals, and ‘Twice’, a musing on hangovers and regrets, feels especially appropriate for this Sunday night. Beyond a fantastic set, it’s a reminder of what the live scene has been missing in Catfish’s hiatus. Male indie rock bands might not be in short supply, but ones with this hit ratio certainly are.
By the time phones – and festivalgoers – are raised for ‘7’, any tech issues are moot. McCann’s confidence in his audience is not misplaced – he could probably stand on the stage with only a conductor’s baton and a winning grin and lead us through a great show. But here at Reading, as ever, he is the guitar-wielding, chorus-belting rock star that has soundtracked young British romances for the last decade. We close out by returning to ‘Cocoon’, this time with the full band, McCann guiding us through repeat after repeat of the final chorus. No one, least of all him, wants it to end.
