CATTY: Striking comeback tunes fuelled by raw pop-rock spirit
“I‘m not walking around saying I’m a lesbian,” CATTY quips over Zoom from her witch-inspired bedroom decorated with posters and crystals. “Actually, I am doing that. I love being a lesbian, I’m very proud of it.”
It’s a hot summer afternoon and the Welsh singer-songwriter is excitedly chatting away about her upcoming pop-rock EP, which draws on her Welsh background and queer-coded storytelling. “Most of the time I’m just talking about my life,” she explains. “I’m just talking about my experiences in the same way that any straight girlie would tell me about their boyfriend.”
A lot has changed for CATTY in the last three months: she’s booked a festival slot opening for Stevie Nicks, kicked off a headline show, and dropped ’80s synth-pop banger ‘Healing Out Of Spite’ which has earned over half a million streams. The playful twang of her lyrics draws on the rock heritage of her favourite acts, like Fleetwood Mac and AC/DC, as she navigates break ups and fall outs in her cathartic, full-throttle comeback anthems.
At first glance, CATTY’s dark sound is all guitar riffs, black eyeliner and mean pop beats, but there’s a raw rock attitude steering her discography. The 23-year old wants to make it big, no matter the cost. “It feels like my entire life has changed, which is overwhelming, but also it feels exciting,” she smiles with self-assuredness. She’s quickly ticking off the newcomer milestones: a monster gig at Heaven with close friends and musicians Beth McCarthy and Nxdia, a dream slot at Hyde Park and, now an intimate date at London’s Lafayette on November 4: a venue that serves as a newcomer rite of passage.
“This entire EP is me saying that I don’t have to die to haunt you”
As CATTY’s career continues to ascend, she’s keeping her head clear and ambitions focused. It’s this do-or-die grit, she admits, that has gotten her this far. “I’ve been making the music that I wanted for about two years now, but I couldn’t afford to put it out,” she says. “I’m so proud that I’m a waitress because it’s how I get my music out. We sold out a headline show, we got the Stevie Nicks gig and I’ve been on tour. But, also, my music is the same as it was two years ago. I’m still a waitress so it’s such a weird moment in my life – a wonderful one, but a very weird one.”
Beaming with excitement for what comes next, the musician tells NME about her Stevie Nicks roots, why she loves Chappell Roan and why she will always consider herself a pop writer.
You’ve achieved a major milestone of playing BST Hyde Park with Stevie Nicks. How did that opportunity come around?
“Stevie Nicks is so rooted [in what] music is for me. I have grown up with her. She’s literally been the soundtrack to every big moment of my life. When I saw that she was in Hyde Park, I literally had to do this. Like I have to do it.
“My first song was called ‘Bella Donna’, which is named after one of her albums. I don’t have a label, I don’t have a booking agent. I didn’t really have anybody that could get it for me. I called my manager who’s my best friend and he was like: ‘This is a big reach’. We emailed everybody that we could and no one replied and then I found the booking agent on Instagram.
“I sent her a voice note about why I really think it should be me. I literally sold myself like a dog. I was like, ‘”I was like I’m fully vaccinated, I’m good, I’m a little bit scared of pigeons, but I don’t think there’ll be a problem.’” She was so kind about it and that’s how I got it.”
What was your first memorable connection to music?
“I went on holiday with my parents when I was younger when I was 12 or 13 and we went to a karaoke bar. I feel like my parents just wanted a night out but we went to the karaoke bar and they’d never heard me sing. So my mum let me do it and as soon as I started singing, I was like: ‘I love this so much’. Everybody in the bar was so nice to me and it was the first time that I felt like I could do something. Ever since then, I’ve just wanted to be on stage.”
How did growing up in rural Wales shape you as an artist?
“All I remember from my childhood, especially in primary school, was learning about witches in Wales. It was such a huge part of my current project. Everything to me needs to feel witchy and otherworldly.
“I grew up queer in a small town which is famously not ideal for anyone. So, as soon as I discovered that about myself, I needed to get out, which is a real shame because when I go back to Wales now, it’s so accepting. Even the Welsh channel S4C and Welsh radio do so much for queer people, the conversation is always really active. But eight years ago, when that was happening to me, I needed to get out and be in a big city.”
You’re part of a new wave of pop rock stars reminiscent of Olivia Rodrigo to YUNGBLUD. What made you gravitate towards that style?
“That’s such an interesting question. In the last couple of years, pop rock has become so popular and it’ll come in and out of being cool. I’m always going to be a pop writer. My toplines are very pop but the music that is ingrained into my soul is rock music. Everything I used to listen to is classic rock like Fleetwood Mac and AC/DC – that’s the only thing that I know, which is always going to be a part of me. I think, actually, I’m just a dad! It seeps into my lesbianism quite a lot as well, I dress like a dad too.”
Your lyricism is relatable and built around precise, catchy hooks. What goes into the songwriting and production of a song?
“I’ve been saying this for a long time, but I feel like I just do silly things in my personal life and then I’ve got to write it – I’ve got to put it somewhere. I write all the time and I’ve had a weird year in my personal life, so it just poured out of me.
“With this EP, it was super inspired by a line in ‘Silver Springs’. I talk about Fleetwood Mac all the time, it is a problem! There’s a line where they say: ‘I will follow you down til the sound of my voice will haunt you‘. I had such a huge piece of rage that I hadn’t explored because I always tried to be so calm but I had this uncovered rage that I needed to get it off. This entire EP is me saying that I don’t have to die to haunt you.”
Who are the queer icons that have inspired you?
“In terms of music, I am obviously so inspired by Chappell Roan – I’m absolutely obsessed with her. I think she’s so incredible. In terms of queer icons I’m going to have to say my friends. There’s that Lady Gaga quote that says ‘every diva has a gay man behind her’ but so many of my friends are gay men. I would say those are the gay icons in my life.”
What would CATTY’s star sign be as a musician?
“That is such a good question… definitely a Leo, 100 per cent. My moon sign is Libra and I would say that I’m so much more associated to that. I’m so balanced. I try to be so calm, nothing really fazes me. I don’t really know what’s going on most of the time, but when it comes to it, I’m so serious.”
CATTY plays Lafayette in London on November 4.
The post CATTY: Striking comeback tunes fuelled by raw pop-rock spirit appeared first on NME.
Zoya Raza-Sheikh
NME
