Catnyp aren’t pussyfooting around on their blazing new live album Stuck With A Valuable Friend — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
Recorded at a Portland gig in December, the propulsive and potent Stuck With A Valuable Friend captures the Missoula power trio — frontman / composer / producer / bassist Henderson K. Shatner (aka HKS), guitarist Billy Reese and drummer Toast — tearing through 16 tracks that fuse the style and sophistication of classic U.K. art-glam with the energy and intensity of ’90s indie-rock and power-pop. If you can imagine a world where Bryan Ferry fronts the Pixies … well, you don’t have to: You can just blast this sucker and live there all the time. And who wouldn’t want to do that?
Formed once HKS returned to the U.S. after 18 years of overseas adventures with bands like London surf-goth outfit Brand Violet (not to mention other groups in Australia and Sweden), Catnyp have also drawn recent comparison to Daniel Ash, David Bowie and even Led Zeppelin — largely based on the fearless vocal experimentation Shatner employs on their latest studio release Catnyp IIII. On this 14-song collection of indie-rock treats, the versatile vocalist channels his favourite artists against a backdrop of melodic, agile bass parts that invoke Beatles-era Paul McCartney, while surfin’ guitars and cleanly overdriven tones provide a nod to California punk and Britpop.
The band — now featuring Spokane drummer Ariana Colts — will be hitting the road again for a Pacific Northwest Tour in late May and early June 2022 in support of the album. Get a taste of what you’re in for by listening to Stuck With A Valuable Friend above, hear more from Catnyp below, and keep up with them on their website, Facebook and Instagram.
