Review by Tracey

Well I can remember the first time I was told to look this band up. Spider and I were out drink brews with mates, he was raving about this band called Catch 22. Telling me I simply HAD to check them out. Well finding their stuff was hard until recently - now Rapido/MDS distro Victory stuff in Australia- it's easy to get and holy shit I'm stoked as hell. In general if you like your ska hard' n' fast and brassy with punk anger this CD for you. Though I do think there is a range in sounds. One of most important things about any CD (no matter who the artist) the first track has to win you over. "Point the Blame" did this to me- my initial reaction was "fark this is goin to be awesome." This number is one for the serious hard paced skankers out there. After listening to tracks like " Sounds good but I don't know' I wondered if Jeff (vocals) called out horse races in a previous life. My eyes couldn't keep up with the words let alone me trying to sing along with em. When does he stop for breath? There are a lot of tempo changes through the entire CD ("Bloomfield Avenue" starts slow but don't let that fool ya for too long)- but mostly its weight loss program CD- if you skanked to this everyday for a week you'd lose 10 kilos I think. There is a bit of range in the vocals with some 'grindy type bits' found in "Hard to Impress", some gang vocals and everything from fast to melodious ("Alone in the Crowd"). Catch 22's are big on brass- trumpets, sax, and trombone. As you know I love brass so I'm in my element listening to them blow! Brass solos included!

Watch out for the secret track and a Beach Boy's cover. Lyrics range in themes from love and life stories etc. I like the blurred pictured guy front cover - it ties in well with the CD title (Alone in the crowd). Go read the lyrics inside- they make a good read. The thank you list is HUGE. Oh the Victory head honcho is suppose to be in the gang vocals. Good goin Tony!

You can sample Catch 22 at these places:
1.Catch 22 Website- mp3 and video (impressive band Website in fact)
2. Victory Records Website- it's got free mp3 and real audio

Tracey's Pick: Point the Blame but I love the entire CD

Tracey's Rating: If you wanna skank hard and fast get this NOW! Damn I do hope they tour here- mind you I think I would have to go into training to keep skankin at the pace they set all nite. It's harsh! Yippy!