The 11 best songs by Catfish and the Bottlemen

Why have a top 10 when you can have one more? We rank the 11 greatest Catfish and the Bottlemen tracks

Ah, young love, possibly the most sung-about topic in musical history. For British teenagers, few bands have immortalised it quite like Catfish and the Bottlemen. Catfish’s songs, by and large penned by lead vocalist Ryan ‘Van’ McCann, are full of secret smoke-break meetings, missed calls, borrowing jackets, stumbling down high streets, and never quite seeming to make things work. With the Welsh-indie rockers reuniting this summer for a string of outdoor shows ahead of their 2025 stadium dates, we’ve combed back through their three studio albums for their best 11 tracks.

11. ‘Kathleen’

(The Balcony, 2014)

This hugely popular track from The Balcony exemplifies what Catfish do best – conversational lyrics that offer specific insights into a relationship, transitioning into a huge chorus. Other tracks in their discography may have a slightly more interesting take on this formula, but Kathleen is a baseline great Catfish song, capturing an imperfect relationship that McCann just keeps coming back to.

10. ‘Twice’

(The Ride, 2016)

Bob Hall and Benji Blakeaway kill it on drums and bass respectively in this one. ‘Twice’ is deliciously noisy, as McCann struggles to escape past regrets and bad memories. He finds himself turning to substances and familiar company to keep the dark thoughts at bay, but soon enough they all come crashing in. The final refrain sees the song slow to chorus line tempo, with McCann swearing he won’t be brought down again as his bandmates quite literally bring him down to walking pace.

9. ‘Soundcheck’

(The Ride, 2016)

There’s something endearingly earnest about ‘Soundcheck’, the lead single from the band’s sophomore album, which sees McCann realising that time with the person he loves might be worth more than the success he’s pursuing. Much of Catfish’s discography discusses this tension, but in ‘Soundcheck’, it looks like love might win out. There’s some beautiful details – “You can fall asleep with my jacket as a cover/And wake up just to join me to smoke,” McCann sings – and a fantastic bridge, in which the instrumental mounts under McCann’s soft conversation with his girlfriend about her childhood. Ultimately, though, the moment of pause comes to the end, as Johnny Bond brings the noise back in with one of his best guitar solos.

8. Homesick

(The Balcony, 2014)

Opener and lead single from The Balcony, ‘Homesick’ acts as a fantastic introduction to the rest of the band’s work, as Van struggles once again to choose between the girl he loves and the lifestyle he’s pursuing. In places, the track feels suitably younger than many of their other singles, with some borderline stereotypical indie-boy-in-a-band lyrics (“She hates her work but loves to flirt/It’s a shame she don’t work with me”), but the authenticity of the songwriting is what sells it. McCann nails the conversational tone of the lyrics – the rhythms of the chorus are perfect, and mimic real speech beautifully.

7. ‘Fallout’

(The Balcony, 2014)

“We always seem to just fall out when I’m most in need of it,” laments McCann. He shouldn’t really be complaining – rocky relationships like these make for the very best Catfish songs. As always, McCann’s lyrics capture an excellent snapshot of the turbulence, in what is an interesting track structurally. At least three different sections are strong enough lyrically and melodically to carry the song, and the band offer up their very best outro here – catchy, self-pitying, and pathetically relatable. The instrumental is even more enormous than usual here, but there’s an amazing rasp in McCann’s vocals that eliminates any danger of him getting lost in it.

6. ‘Pacifier’

(The Balcony, 2014)

Some of McCann’s best lyrics involve exchanges between two people. His conversational lyricism shines when employed quite literally in conversation and truly brings the relationships he sings about to life. ‘Pacifier’ sees two people failing to relate to each other, bickering and disagreeing until the track’s fantastic opening riff returns bigger than ever, leaving us to wonder what it all means for the future of their relationship. It’s a tightly written track that doesn’t let us take sides, but instead focuses on the emotional impact on its two leads.

5. ‘Glasgow’

(The Ride, 2016)

Catfish have done a few beautiful, stripped-back tracks throughout their career, but ‘Glasgow’ feels special. If ‘timeless’ is an over-applied word then it’s hard to find a better one to describe the song’s simple chorus, in which McCann recalls multiple trips down Sauchiehall Street – in a variety of different states – the implication being that the person he sings about has been there through them all and will be for many trips more. “Oh, before you know/I’ll be carrying you over the threshold,” he sings. McCann is used to competing with ambitious instrumentals – his casual vocals here, over a playful acoustic guitar arrangement, sells ‘Glasgow’ as their most intimate track.

4. ‘Mission’

(The Balance, 2019)

Our top three all exemplify Catfish doing what Catfish do, but ‘Mission’ makes it to fourth position because it sees the band nailing something a little different. Van muses on his relationship with his father, recalling conversations that pushed him to always go for what he wants without taking no for answer. The song’s time signature changes throughout, with Johnny Bond’s wailing guitar taking over from Van in places. It’s a musically interesting track with a lot to digest lyrically, and represents a different kind of relationship than is typically portrayed in a Catfish song – with the same emotional punch.

3. ‘Longshot’

(The Balance, 2019)

That languid “Go,” is the perfect way to open a Catfish album – so everyone agreed when The Balance was released in 2019. ‘Longshot’ is one of best Van’s songs about a tumultuous relationship – he and the person he loves are not barely out of their teens anymore, but settling into adulthood, now “wise enough to know” that the relationship might not be sustainable. Still, they’re willing to take their long shot chance on it. The stakes feel higher than they have on previous albums and there’s a real sense of the history between the two parties, rather than simply the attraction. The song never really reaches the triumphant high found in many Catfish tracks – the instrumental is still big, but remains quite melancholic throughout, emphasising that the two leads truly don’t know how it’s all going to turn out.

2. ‘Cocoon’

(The Balcony, 2014)

‘Cocoon’ is one of those songs that captures teenage love so perfectly that you can listen to it at any stage of life – you’ll either relate to it, or be glad that you no longer do. It’s an ode to a point in life where, for better or worse, you don’t care what anyone else thinks about your relationship – you know that no one’s ever been in love like the two of you. Winningly immature as it feels in places, this is some of the band’s best lyricism, a fantastic blend of overdramatic declarations (“I’d rather go blind than let you down”) and details that remind you just how young they are – hiding smoking from their families and acting more drunk than they actually are to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. It’s truly a time capsule – and an absolutely excellent piece of indie rock.

1. ‘7’

(The Ride, 2016)

We’ve come full circle – just like ‘Kathleen’, ‘7’ is everything that makes Catfish great. We’ve got a big instrumental, a great guitar line, and conversational, emotive lyrics about trying to make a relationship work. But ‘7’ takes our top spot because everything runs like a well-oiled machine. The instrumental is satisfyingly full, but leaves plenty of space for the story. McCann’s vocals shine, as she sings about being overwhelmed by his fast-paced life on tour and the distance it forces between him and the person he loves, both geographically and emotionally. Plenty of Catfish songs end at an uncertain point in the story, but ‘7’ emphasises that these aren’t young people causing problems for themselves. Things may just not work out because it’s impossible to have it all. It’s a bitter pill to swallow – but Johnny Bond’s fantastic performance on guitar helps it go down a little easier.