We Are The Catalyst – Ephemeral

Label: Self-released
Releasedate: 13-02-2019

We Are The Catalyst is a Swedish dark/alternative rock band. Formed in 2012, the band has the aim of being a light in the dark for those who need it the most. The name “We Are The Catalyst” is meant as encouragement to overcome and challenge the darker parts of ourselves and others. The band is back with a brand new release called “Ephemeral”, which was funded completely by the fans via the PledgeMusic campaign.

A little bit of dark/symphonic rock, a little bit of alternative with “earcandy” pop elements… It’s always surprising to hear a band within this genre who delivers this style in a different perspective and in their own interpretation. The release took me back to my teenage years (phew! I feel old now…) when this style was rather a bit more popular. Nevertheless, even though there is a dynamic vibe to the release, the dark mood will be felt from the beginning, which is reflected quite well in the vocals and the synths in the background.

Within this colorful mix of styles, some highlights will capture the attention of the listener. For instance the incorporation of electro elements in-between like in “The Code” or the first song “Over Pale Water” add a nice extra flavor to the release. Another highlight I liked was the song “Innan Allt Faller”, which is the only song in the band’s mother tongue.

“Ephemeral” is not all perfect though. Even though I liked the mix of the styles and these little nice highlights, I found the color of the female vocals same and repetitive overall; since the focus of the release is on vocals, I would have expected this element to be diverse. That being said, I felt this diversity a lot better in the first half of the album. Although we hear the contribution of the male vocals in some songs, I think that the band can work on making certain elements a bit more diverse to stand out more in this genre.

P.S: After researching a bit more about the PledgeMusic campaign, it saddened me to learn what WATC went through… If you wanna learn more about it, click here.

Line up:

• Cat Fey – lead vocals
• Kenny Boufadene – vocals & guitars
• Håkan Strind – drums
• Joni Kaartinen – bass

Tracklist

01. Over Pale Water
02. Alone Against the World
03. Predators
04. Where The Mountain Stands
05. Coming Home
06. The Code
07. Innan Allt Faller
08. Breathing Black
09. In Shadows
10. Without You
11. The Broken
12. Dust

Links:

Facebook
Bandcamp
Official