Catholic Action are very much one of the bands of the moment. The band, led by Chris McCrory also of Casual Sex and Pinact, have gathered a reputation on the live scene, which is being replicated with their recorded output. The tracks for their forthcoming split with Poor Things sound fantastic, and there's plenty more in the pipeline too. I caught up with lead singer Chris to find out more.
Hello! How the devil are you?
I'm very warm, but very well thank you.
It's the question everyone hates, but could you illuminate our readers with a little bit about your music and your influences?
I think everyone hates it because it's so hard! Plus, musicians are inherently lazy. It's a lose/lose situation.
I will say that I definitely get off on a mix of strong melodies, sweet harmonies, classic pop songwriting and strange sounds however.
What's your song-writing / creative process like?
As a recording engineer, the studio often exerts a strong influence on our music. However, we're just as likely to have songs come together live in the rehearsal room or through simple bedroom demos. We're a live band ultimately - but having the studio allows us to expand musically, and incorporate sounds and ideas that'd otherwise be impossible.
The one constant ideal throughout all of these processes however is the importance of the song. To me, a good song should work just as well with an acoustic guitar as it does with the bells and whistles of a recording studio.
What could we expect to see from a live show?
You will see: Andrew Macpherson exhibiting complete mastery of the electric guitar, Jamie Dubber shooting bass lines from the hip, Ryan Clark's stylish punctuality in full effect and me pushing hair out of my face.
Tell us about your next planned split with Poor Things
Our first ever tour was back in November with Poor Things. We immediately fell in love with each other (and each other's music). So naturally, a split release was in order! Fuzzkill are going to release it as a limited edition cassette/digital download! You can get your hands on it through Fuzzkill's bandcamp or at one of the shows on the tour.
What else have you got planned for 2015?
We have a lot of music that we want to show you, we have a lot of gigs that we're very much looking forward to playing! We'll be at:
Edinburgh / Banshee Labyrinth – Friday 27th March
Aberdeen / Cellar 35 – Saturday 28th March
Inverness / Mad Hatters – Sunday 29th March
Glasgow / Broadcast - Friday 3rd April
Manchester / Big Hands – Saturday 4th April
What are you listening to at the moment?
I was listening to a new track of ours for far too long on end… (The joys of mixing).
But right now (thankfully), I'm listening to Tearing The Place Apart by Sparks. It has camp class and a sleazy swing. It's classically melodic yet completely skewed. A perfectly unhinged piece of pop music. I highly recommend it.
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