Catholic Action – In Memory Of

A debut that shows signs of real promise...

On a first brief listen, you could mistake Catholic Action for just ticking the stereotypical indie clichés for ‘In Memory Of’. ‘The Shallows’ is a hallmark anthem, reflecting on dwindling youth, with the likes of the foot stomping ‘L.U.V.’ and ‘New Year’ not seeing much life outside of a festival setting. However, there are moments where Catholic Action do show signs of real promise.

Undoubtedly an album highlight, pre-album release ‘Propaganda’ is an ’80s throwback of rattling guitars, silky synths and wailing Robert Smith-esque vocals. But with its short runtime, ‘Propaganda’ is begging for more attention. As for the sultry ‘Breakfast’, Catholic Action strut around like their Glaswegian counterparts Baby Strange with their swaggering percussion, while the catchiness of ‘Doing Well’ and Black and White’ are too sugar-coated to resist.

Even though Catholic Action’s tried and tested indie isn’t exactly revolutionary, the Scottish outfit do have a knack for getting it done properly. This ultimately results in ‘In Memory Of’ being a rather fun time. With tracks such as ‘Propaganda’ really showing off their potential, ‘In Memory Of’ is a somewhat safe yet enjoyable debut record that puts Catholic Action on the right path to earning bigger live shows and eventually chart challenging tunes.

6/10

Words: Liam Egan

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