Photo Credit: Aaron Marsh
Catch Your Breath have released their debut album, Shame On Me, via Thriller Records. Hailing from Austin, Texas, their music can be described as alternative rock with hints of metal, which is exactly how the album kicks off with opener No Evil. Guitarist Teddy Herrera explains: “We want to mix it up with a new gen of alt-rock and metal. There’s almost never just our instruments playing by themselves”.
Dying On The Inside is an exceptional track on the lyrical front, with lead vocalist Josh Mowery starting the song with some powerful words: “A fucked up world that just won’t change/a bottle of pills calling my name.” Dial Tone is by far the band’s most popular song to date, with over 35 million streams on Spotify alone and strong support on TikTok. The song itself reflects on the ending days of a relationship. Once again, Mowery’s vocals are outstanding, with the opening lyrics “When I close my eyes/I can see a ghost from the past/And it cuts just like a knife.”
Cycles is dominated by Herrera’s thrashing guitar work and Mowery’s deep lyrics. Catch Your Breath have created a tremendously emotional album here, which carries the listener through a journey of pain, despair and everything in between.
Savages was released as a single earlier in the year and is another track where Mowery pours his heart out with lyrics such as: “There’s a flame running through our veins/There’s a hate that just won’t fade/That only comes out when we go insane”. The song was written alongside Johnny Andrews (Three Days Grace & Halestorm) and the band describe it as “A song that talks about being the by-product of society, when we sit complacently and allow the powers that be to dictate our lives”. Mirror is another one of those reflective songs that pulls you in from the first second and there is even a moment where Mowery shows off his rapping skills.
The album’s penultimate track, 21 Gun Salute, shows Catch Your Breath experimenting with diverse elements, while title track Shame On Me feels like the song that should end the album, allowing the listener to reflect.
We find it hard to find a bad song on this record and we’re certain that Shame On Me will help catapult the band on to a bigger stage. Here’s hoping for a UK tour in the near future.
9/10
Standout Tracks: Dial Tone, Savages, 21 Gun Salute
For Fans Of: Caskets, Until I Wake, Savage Hands
Written by: Alan Brown
