I was always a big fan of Scottish vocalist Fin Muir and his albums with Waysted so when we received an e-mail from our friends at Rock n Growl about a new album from an American band that featured Fin on vocals it certainly caught my attention. That band is Cattail Brew and the album is called “It’s a Bit Difficult Really”. It was released on 23rd March by Cargo Records. I’ve included the track “Side By Side” on the Friday NI Rocks Show this week.


 

The roots of Cattail Brew can be traced back to the release of the album “Dogatized” in 2013 – that album was a collaboration between Ohio band American Dog and Fin. In fact, work on that album actually started with Pete Way back in 2005 when he agreed to record some cover versions with American Dog. That project was never completed and eventually Fin Muir agreed to step in and record the album. (Co-incidentally, part of the American Dog line-up at that stage was bass player Michael Hannon, formerly of Salty Dog – subject of my previous album recommendation).

 

The decision was taken to continue working together and that led to the formation of Cattail Brew. The band consisted of Fin Muir on vocals, American Dog members Steve Theado on guitars and Keith Pickens on drums, plus Snowblynd bassist Joe Viers. The band initially played tracks from the “Dogatized” album and Waysted, but quickly moved to create new material and “It’s A Bit Difficult Really” was recorded. Snowblynd guitarist Ryan Smith was also later added to the line-up.


The band’s name comes from a line in the Tommy Bolin track “Jump Back” which is covered on the new album.

 

Check out the band’s Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Cattail-Brew-1721051748196838/

About “NI Rocks Recommends”

The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!