Where art-rock and shoegaze converge, you’ll find Cat Ryan.

You’ll also find Cat Ryan in England’s North East, where the trio of Simon Tarbox, Lucas Rothwell and Mary-Anne Murphy write songs and, in less complicated times, play shows in Newcastle’s vibrant gig scene. Not to be stopped by current world events, the band have release a couple of new tunes, namely ‘Mannerism’ and the topic of our review ‘Blessed Through The TV’.

This newer song is a beguiling mix of East Asian strings and off-kilter pop-rock that deals with the unusual theme of half-heartedness. As the band’s singer, lyricist and multi-instrumentalist illuminates: “Lyrically the song is packed with metaphors exploring this whilst referring to the original inspiration: being sent an angel figurine (the one that features on the single artwork) from my aunt. The Pope had done a mass blessing through the television, telling people to hold items up to the tv to be blessed. It didn’t quite make sense to me; it was almost a half-hearted blessing, and
this sparked the ideas behind the song”.

Follow Cat Ryan here.