‘Are yous good, Nottingham?” yells Catfish and the Bottlemen singer Van McCann, mid-song, raising a thumb aloft to the upper balcony without missing a beat. He’s barely into the second line of third number Soundcheck – a song about a romantic encounter after, well, a soundcheck – before the audience take up the rest, singing, “I raced through soundcheck / Just to meet you on your fag break” at him like a choir. People in the front half of the packed arena sing and punch the air.
Four years ago, following an eight-year slog and initial lineup changes, McCann’s band blazed out of Llandudno like a rocket. Since then, the Welsh group’s gigs have become steadily larger – rowdy affairs consisting of balloons, beach balls, flares and human pyramids. While there are no signs of the latter here, the band are unlikely to relinquish the arena status gained after their 2014 album The Balcony (which sold roughly 300,000), and UK No 1 The Ride, in 2016.
Their debut record unveiled the Catfish formula. Driven by McCann’s stadium-sized ambition, it is staple, anthemic indie-rock with conversational, prosaic but relatable lyrics that has captured an audience of mainly 16- to 23-year-olds, whose musical vocabulary stretches from early Arctic Monkeys to the Kooks.
Nobody comes to a Catfish gig expecting avant-garde electronics, but progression wouldn’t go amiss. You’d need a micrometer screw gauge to measure the differences between 2019 singles Longshot and Fluctuate, and the one-word-titled melodic indie rock (nine songs from The Balcony, seven from The Ride) which makes up the rest of the setlist. Drummer Bob Hall is becoming more inventive and guitarist Johnny Bond’s licks suggest more lies in his locker. Otherwise, the only real diversion from type is the dubbier section in Fallout, which features U2-type guitar and vocal echo, although the gentler, yearning parts in Heathrow are not unwelcome.
The band has a new album due in April. But as the crowd clamber on each other’s shoulders to bellow the tried and tested double whammy of early favourites Cocoon and Tyrants, it remains to be seen whether Catfish have already peaked.
• At Plymouth Pavilions, on 20 February. Then touring the UK until 23 February.
