We Are Catchers’ self-titled debut album comes on like a west coast daydream in Brian Wilson’s sandbox. It’s a long distance daydream though as We Are Catchers i.e. Peter Jackson (Piano/vocals) hails from the home of The Beach Boys’ sonic frenemies The Beatles and the shadow of both groups can be felt throughout the album’s ten tracks.
However, as with any sandbox daydream it isn’t all glorious melody combined with lyrics of ecstasy, achievement and resilient love affairs. The spectre of remorse, anguish, pain and suffering is never far away.
The influence of another of Liverpool’s greatest sons Lee Mavers is also apparent as is that of The Walker Brother’s and Jimi Goodwin’s Doves. The Liverpudlian melodic ethos is further engrained with Bill Ryder-Jones of The Coral at the helm of production and supplementing guitar to Jackson’s piano based compositions.
Water’s Edge unfurls Jackson’s happy-sad sonic raison d’etre of bouncy yet forlorn melodies with Wilson Brother’s-esque pitch perfect harmony vocals wrapping themselves around all in sundry, marshalled below by Jackson’s ornate and pounding piano motifs. Isabella drives home the happy sad manifesto in a track that’s reminiscent of Our House by Crosby, stills, Nash, and Young thanks to its walking bassline and vocal arrangements.
Underneath the haze of reverbed harmony vocals of single Tap Tap Tap is the kind of joyous, pounding, piano pop Jerry Lee Lewis delivered at the height of his powers, glistening with the fervour of possibilities. It’s the standout moment on the album in a radio friendly way.
The Fear and Over The Hill add a country flavour to the album as a greater emphasis is placed upon the additional instrumentation with slide guitar from Ryder-Jones expanding the soundscapes further still. Despite the obvious similarities in approach to layered yet spacious arrangements one organ squelch is all it takes to bring an unexpected ‘Lost Souls’-era Doves vibe to Richer Man. This sidestep provides one of the standout moments on the album.
In essence there is nothing startlingly fresh or original about ‘We Are Catchers’ and at times Jackson just about gets away with some quite predictable and cheesy lyrics thanks to the vibes of the music that accompanies them. At times due to the similar pace of many of the songs there is perhaps too much bleed between one song and the next.
However, Jackson has a wonderful ear for a melody and he has produced some fine songs on his debut album and is sure to find a devoted audience for them. The lush arrangements are at times fabulous and for this reason We Are Catchers’ audience may in fact be other songwriters for now. Having said that, this is a maiden voyage many bands would die for.