FEATURE:
Second Spin
Catatonia – International Velvet
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IN Second Spin…
I am looking at albums that maybe did not get the full credit they deserved when they came out or have not been discussed since appropriately. We all know the great Welsh band, Catatonia, and we can all name a few of their hits. International Velvet is the band’s second album, and I remember it coming out in 1998. The band were everywhere that year, and songs like Mulder and Scully and Road Rage are classics! I really like Catatonia, and I think it is a shame that they split after their fourth album, Paper Scissors Stone, in 2001. International Velvet spawned five top-forty singles, including Strange Glue and I Am the Mob. The album is packed with great music, and it was one of the biggest-selling albums of 1998 – International Velvet was also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Although many of the songs of International Velvet are instantly recognisable and timeless, the album has not scored the reviews I thought it would! Despite big sales, chart success and that Mercury nomination, critics were not overly-hot on International Velvet. Maybe many felt that, apart from the singles, International Velvet lacked consistency. In 1998, albums from Madonna (Ray of Light), Lauryn Hill (The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill) and Garbage (Version 2.0) were released, so perhaps Catatonia were not seen as a great alternative or as strong as the rest. Looking back over twenty years since its release, I play International Velvet and there is that great mix of the bigger tracks and golden remains.
Maybe one of the problems is that International Velvet is top-heavy. Mulder and Scully, Game On, I Am the Mob and Road Rage are the first four tracks – and were all successful singles -, whilst Strange Glue is the only single to feature in the second half. Listen to songs like Don't Need the Sunshine and International Velvet, and I think they hang alongside the singles in terms of quality. Catatonia consisted Cerys Matthews – vocals; Mark Roberts – guitar; Paul Jones – bass; Owen Powell – guitar and Aled Richards – drums, and most of the tracks were written by Matthews and Roberts. There are some positive reviews out there for International Velvet but, in terms of perception and media reviews, they have not matched the sales and public support of the album. Here is what NME wrote in 1998:
“Likewise with 'Why I Can't Stand One Night Stands', the title is the only simple sentiment you'll find. Rather than the bolshy social comment you might expect, it's a desolate, haunting pool of confused emotions, and all the more affecting for it.
'Johnny Come Lately' is even more intoxicating as a stab at dewy-eyed acoustic melancholy, and a grand piano on final track 'My Selfish Gene' is a masterstroke. Meanwhile the fact that those legendary nights out have developed a rough edge to Cerys' voice lends guts to out-and-out pop songs like 'Road Rage' and 'I Am The Mob'.
So this must be Catatonia growing up, then. And successfully, for the most part. The only thing that lets them down is that when they return to their most natural guitar pop habitat, they're at their least exciting.
They've shown they've got the trousers to back up the mouth. But we're still waiting for the knockout punch”.
I think Cerys Matthews’ incredible voice and the variety of songs makes International Velvet a captivating and interesting listen! Like so many well-known singles from the 1990s, I don’t think Road Rage and Mulder and Scully have become too overly-familiar and lost their edge. Maybe there is an element of nostalgia speaking, but I think International Velvet is a classic, and it definitely warrants some fresh investigation. The NME review I just quoted from was from 1998; in 2009, this is what AllMusic wrote:
“Prior to International Velvet, Catatonia offered modest, lovely pleasures -- pretty, ringing pop songs filled with sweet and sour melodies. Apparently, the band was concerned that they were a little too precious, a little too similar to late-'80s indie pop groups like the Primitives, so they beefed up their sound, turned up the guitars and toughened up their attack for International Velvet, their second major-label album (the first to be released in America). It's a gambit that fails as often it succeeds. Part of the problem is that the hard rock sounds forced, never quite rocking with the abandon it should and keeping much of the album grounded.
More problematically, Cerys Matthews has a captivating voice but a weakness for gimmicks -- "I Am the Mob" and "Mulder and Scully" have terrific hooks, but it's hard to get with their self-conscious pop culture references. Still, at least they bring memorable melodies to the songs. When their songwriting comes up short, there isn't enough attitude or snarl to the performances to make them enjoyable -- which is precisely what the sonic revamping should have given them. Even with the flaws, International Velvet has its fair share of pop delights -- it just doesn't deliver as many as Way Beyond Blue, which had a surplus of melody and grace”.
I really love International Velvet, and it is one of those strange albums that sold by the bucket-load and was all over the charts, yet the public’s love did not mirror the reaction from the media. Have a listen to the album and experience the classics like I Am the Mob and great album tracks such as Part of the Furniture. International Velvet is a full, eclectic and incredible album that I think...
HAS been overlooked by many people.