Catfish and The Bottlemen Accords

Catfish and the Bottlemen’s chords have frequently been described as falling under the umbrella of alternative rock, indie rock and post-punk revival. Formerly known as The Prestige, the band was founded in Llandudno, North Wales in April 2007. Ryan ‘Van’ McCann and William Bibby started to play guitar together at the Bed & Breakfast that was owned by Bibby’s parents. They were joined by Benji Blakeway, who plays the bass and Jon Barr on drums later. Bibby, who had been playing the guitar since he was only ten years old, taught his companions McCann and Blakeway how to play. The group’s funky name was inspired by McCann’s first childhood memory of a musical, featuring an Australian street busker, going by the name Catfish the Bottleman. He made music, merely using beer bottles strung together with a piece of rope.

Sink or swim

When some of the members decided to leave, new artists took their places. Original drummer Barr was supplanted by Robert ‘Bob’ Hall in 2010 and Bibby was replaced by Jonathan Bond ‘Bondy’ in August 2014. When the band signed to Communion Music in 2013, they released their first three singles “Homesick”, “Rango” and “Pacifier”. Subsequently, their chords started to gain more and more popularity and all three of their recent releases had been premiered by New Zealand radio DJ and record producer Zane Lowe. On top of that, their single “Kathleen” got rated as number one of MTV’s hottest tracks in April 2014. This truly was the point of departure for their streak of success. With their debut album The Balcony (2014) the group managed to reach number 10 of the UK album charts.

Contemporary Indie stars

Their composition of chords in combination with the lyrics on this album have been described as having a "youthful energy", recalling "the turbocharged feeling of a fresher’s week club night" by critics. Their tracks make you want to wave your pint through the air and sing along with a big crowd of people. This energy and passion that is reflected in Catfish and the Bottlemen’s chords got recognized and rewarded: With their contemporary indie music, the group won a Brit Award in 2016 for British Breakthrough Act. When they released their second album The Ride in the same year, it reached number one in the UK album charts - a staggering 100.000 copies have been sold in the UK. Yet, their success has not just been limited to their home country and an international career followed. The band has toured in South America, Japan, UK, Europe, North America and Australia and has participated in major festivals including Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds. They have managed to establish a prominent spot in the Indie scene, being able to keep up with other UK bands of the same genre, such as The Kooks.

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