Introducing Spy Catcher
Introducing Spy Catcher
Words by Brendan Monteiro / Photos by Marcus Maschwitz (Stuart Gili-Ross not featured as he was on tour with Gallows so he was filled in by James Leach)
Spy Catcher is the new talent from Watford here to slap there good vibes in the face of rock. Having only been around since January these four humble musicians have stumbled across something new, exciting and ingenious. The blueprint for their strategy is to play “honest, real sounding songs” , and with this in mind they have already etched a name for themselves in the music scene stacked to the rafters with new bands.
The watford four piece consist of non other than Ex-Cry For Silence members Steve Sears (guitar/vocals) and Alistair Gordon (drums), Stu Gilli-Ross (bass) of Gallows and Mitch Mitchener (guitar) of Haunts. This little snippet of information will certainly catch a lot of eyes but don’t be surprised upon listening to them as they are the complete contrast of those aforementioned bands. Why mention this fact then you might ask, well it gives you the idea of what these four bring to the table and that is talent. An abundance of it!
The first release from Spy Catcher is the E.P titled ‘Rock Is Cursed’ and swirls with emotive lyrics, striking vocals and catchy instrumentation that reaches out to the soul. From the packaging to design and everything in between you can see that these guys have taken much pride in compiling this release. Recorded, produced and mixed by the band themselves at both Mitcheners “Broadfields” studio and Sears’ home studio adds a certain rawness and gives it that organic edge. Opening and title track ‘Rock Is Cursed’ caught me off guard on the first listen, its got a spaced out feel to the guitars, and Sears’ voice really is something to talk about. I hate to say “It sounds like” but this guy has got a combination of so many great singers. He has that monumental roar of Dave Grohl, the deep gravelly chant of Kelly Jones and and the whiskey soaked sounds of Chuck Ragan.
Lyrically Sears’ takes you on a guided tour of what rock is, his words are truthful and though at times a little despairing, for example “Im down on my luck, what can I say I never had so many bills to pay and I wont change that around in a night”. But it seems to always end with positive connotations, “An hour here and we’ll feel fine we’ll drink our woes goodbye”, which is a welcomed deter from the overly dismal views of some song writers these days. Why is it called ‘Rock Is Cursed’ you might ask, Spy Catcher put it best by saying “Because being in a band ruins relationships, finances, social lives, jobs… But we wouldn’t change it for the world”. This just cements everything good about this band, they are not here to do anything except the one thing they love, and that is to make bloody good music. Ladies and gentlemen! welcome to the next big thing!
September 10th, 2009
Saw these guys with The Get Up Kids at the Electric Ballroom and couldn’t believe how incredible they were. Nice to see a band that don’t sound like every other ‘moment’ band – catchy as fuck and heavy as fuck! Seeing them tonight at The Garage.