Patrick Molloy
After three years of bleeding, Light & Shadow, the debut album from local band Catcher, is ready for the universe to embrace.
Trevor Bennett, the band’s vocalist and creator, brilliantly produced Light & Shadow - an album that demonstrates both extremes referred to in its title, and exhibits the right placement of subtleties and selection of sound makers.
Bennett’s voice is the most powerful instrument of all. He can emote softly, but also blow you away with powerful screams. His vocals are drowned a little bit in the mix of track 11, "The Chase," but the rest of album will make you forget about this minor detail.
Blood is a recurring image throughout the album, but not in a gory sense. The lyrics "I hate it when you bleed on me," "Wipe the blood from your face," and "Bleeding on my knees" scream heartbreak. Heartbreak, while an obvious lament, is portrayed with vast instrumentation in a very professional and clever manner.
The album contains moments of nostalgia, rage, surrender, and harsh truth. It’s very diverse, with an amazing use of epic arrangements and drama. Many of the tunes have a crunchy industrial/metal sound, but are strategically divided with four instrumental electronic tracks. "Solitaire [Confinement]," "[Balance]," and "[Abbreviation]" are three theme tunes, and "Carina" has spoken word aspects. They all have a trip/trance groove that conveys the vulnerability of the broken heart. "Next Big Thing" is a stripped-down acoustic song that presents yet another element of Bennett’s musicianship.
It’s impressive how the album’s content reflects the theme of energy masses and moody vibrancies portrayed in the cover art. It is always nice to see something a little more creative than a mug shot on the front of a CD.
Like many artists’ first album, Catcher’s record is written lyrically from personal experience with heartbreak. Bennett has an striking ability to depict emotion through vocal performance and production.
This album furthers my pride towards the St. John’s indie music scene. Bennett has used some of the city’s premier players, such as Trailer Camp’s Jamie March, but his genius as a multiinstrumentalist, composer, and truthful artist - the signature of the record - will secure a promising future for Catcher.