I turned up at Melbourne’s iconic live music venue 170 Russell to review and shoot Texas hard rock band Catch Your Breath on their first ever Australian tour thoroughly ignorant as to what kind of show I was coming to see. I arrived a little late so missed out on the first support, but was all set for Adelaide metal core / alternative band Heartline when they hit the stage.
The fact that the venue was pretty much already packed out at 7pm on a cold Thursday Melbourne evening was a promising sign that I was in for a great show, and from the second Heartline frontman Luke Taylor came bouncing onto the stage the energy was insane. The band had clearly brought their own travelling contingent of hard core fans because the crowd went wild for their exhilarating set of huge heavy guitar riffs, smooth, melodic bass lines and Taylor’s raging vocal performance. I don’t think I’ve seen a support band dominate a stage with this much bravado in a long time.
The audience barely had time to catch their breath (Ha!) before the lights went dark and the venue buzzed with excitement. Somehow the room had become even more packed. The air crackled with anticipation before erupting into screams as Catch Your Breath strolled on stage one by one and launched straight into opening track Blood Money.
With a crowd surfer being pulled over the front barrier – and high-fived by frontman Josh Mowery – before then end of even the third song it was obvious this was going to be a chaotic kind of night, and for an hour and 20 minutes this band had pretty much the entire audience jumping, screaming, crying and singing their hearts out.
From the harder rock of tracks like 21 Gun Salute, Dark, and viral hit Dial Tone, to their more heartfelt, melodic tracks like Y.S.K.W and Good In Goodbye, Catch Your Breath proved to be more than just a hard rock band. Filled with catchy hooks, memorable choruses, and some great melodies, their sound encompassed a broad range of musical genres, almost a kind of alt-rock pop sound mixed in with the harsher metal elements.
Thankfully, Mowery’s vocal abilities were more than up to the task of nailing the requirements such varying musical experimentation demands. From harsh, guttural growls to delicate falsetto, he was able to change up his vocal delivery at a moment’s notice, lending the songs a vibrant dynamism and depth. The rest of the band were also on great form, supplying Mowery the canvas upon which to create such a rich tapestry of sound.
In fact, I would say my one criticism of the set as a whole was that at times it could feel a little too polished, a little too crisp and clean. Backing tracks were sometimes a bit too prevalent and there was a sense that it was on the verge of feeling a bit overproduced. But while I would have personally appreciated a little more of a rough edge to the performance it didn’t really detract from the experience as a whole.
There’s no doubt that this crowd adored this band, and from Catch Your Breath’s gratitude for the welcome they have received during their debut tour of Australia, I’m sure they will be eager to head back our way very soon. We can’t wait.