Glasgow has always been well known for its thriving live music scene. Bands such as Franz Ferdinand and the Fratellis have all been formed there and played their first tentative gigs at small venues such as Broadcast and Stereo. Now a new band has come to the fore, hoping to take their place atop Glasgow’s competitive rock band totem-pole.
Catholic Action came armed to their gig at Broadcast with a live set full of buzzy, guitar solo heavy tracks that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on an old school Libertines album. Touring to support the release of their debut album, In Memory Of, the band set out to impress their hometown crowd with an energetic performance, never failing to engage the audience, who hung onto every word sang by swashbuckling frontman Chris McCrory.
McCrory seemed to thrive on the pressure of performing in his home city, shaking off a few feedback problems during the first couple of songs with typical Scottish humour.
It’s hard not to be impressed by the four-piece band’s swaggering brand of rock music. With songs like Black and White already being hotly tipped as a future hit by the likes of Radio X, and with a feature in NME in the bag, Catholic Action seem like the next big guitar band, ready to break out into the mainstream.
Their original sound can be seen as a big aspect of this, with their guitar first, ask questions later vibe evident in every song performed at Broadcast. Not content with just delivering bland, paint-by-the numbers indie rock that seems to infest most upcoming bands live sets, Catholic Action make sure that every guitar note and lyric bites hard and delivers no let-up for listeners.
This was especially true in set opener Doing Well, an upbeat, infectious tune that was reminiscent of fellow Glaswegian rock band Franz Ferdinand. Catchy and with a fantastic guitar riff, it set the scene for a special almost homecoming like gig for the band.
So did I just witness the first baby steps of a rock band which is set to take Britain by storm? It’s hard to argue no, considering the way Catholic Action flew through a whirlwind half-an-hour set, with their unique take on the rock genre incredibly evident throughout.
They are going to be huge, and I expect 2018 to be a massive year for them.
Pic Credit: Catholic Action Twitter
