“I want to hear this again’, I said as soon as the song was over. What did I just listen to? Whatever it was, play it again. NOW!
“Yr Old Dad” by Catholic Action is a hypnotic sonic delight that pulls you in and does not let you go. The soundscape elements are happy-making – you bounce along because it’s interesting and barrels through right to the last note. You can tell that the band is into it. The arrangement is complex in their stops, starts and with cool musical ideas.
You look down at your feet and find they have taken on a life of their own tapping to the rhythm of the drums and you feel your head boppin.
”Oooh oooh” vocals are so well blended it’s hard to hear where the guitar ends and the voices begin. And it keeps moving along then the drum and the guitar pull you into a distinctive “Ooooo ooooooo”. Then the music pulls back and you hear the chugging beat of “Yr old Dad is never out Yr Old Dad will never be found”
You’re singing & you’re clapping along and listening to great guitar playing. Then boom. It’s over. Slide guitar into silence.
So you hit repeat because you want that rush of a song that moves you, that has energy, that lifts you up – especially now with the craziness the world is in.
Oh no! What’s this? I have been led astray! I am listening to the song for the 4th time, googling Catholic Action for more info on them and come across a review in Flood magazine saying the song “is a macabre (and downright weird) absurdist anthem.” I find another review where one of the band members explains: “This is the sound of the wheels coming off, a sing-along catastrophe. The shrugged shoulders as another funny little plan doesn’t go quite right”.
I was lulled into lalaland with a sunshiny singalong song. Tricked I say!
But I don’t want everything to not be bright and right with the world when I listen to “Yr Old Dad”. The music is too good and happy and bouncy to be de-railed by lyrics that say otherwise.
I’m loving the arrangement of this song – and the wonderful energy that Catholic Action bring to the recording. Really well done. I choose to leave with a happy memory of a fine song that made my heart dance in appreciation of a great band who know how to make a song come alive. In the end, that’s really what matters.
Have a listen:
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/catholic-action/yr-old-dad-1/s-M20Wc
WEBSITE: https://www.catholicaction.co.uk/
TWITTER: @_CatholicAction
FACEBOOK: @catholicactionband
INSTAGRAM: catholicband
SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/user/catholicaction
MODERN SKY RECORDS: https://modernsky.uk/
The Music Files 