There's a fine line between the Beatles, Beach Boys, the Bee Gees and Butch Vig...and CATHERINE trips over it in all the right places. Serving up monster portions of thickly layered psychedelic pop, Chicago's CATHERINE debut with Sorry and continue the band's quest for "Better Living Through Noise." After turning heads with a tantalizing EP Sleepy (co-produced by Billy Corgan), Sorry showcases the band's knack for serious music with sense of humor.
With two lead singers and three lead guitars, the band concocts a crunchy blend of sludge rock riddled with pop clich and every guitar trick in the book. And with shared authorship on all songs, the policy is "you wrote it, you sing it." While rockers like "Songs About Girls" and "Funny Bunny" are delivered with a sly wink, the Bee Gees cover "Every Christian Lion-Hearted Man Will Show You" makes you yearn for 1969 and the earth-quaking "Saint" might be the cause of your newly blown speakers. Slow burners like "2AM" and "Inchworm" are sweet and catchy but avoid the trappings of a sappy, stale ballad.
The Chicago-based band came together piece by piece from 1985 to 1990. As a duo Neil Jendon and Jerome Brown named themselves CATHERINE (not sure why). Shortly thereafter, Kerry Brown (no relation to Jerome) was brought into the fold as a welcome replacement for the drum machine. In 1991, the band released a 7" single on Limited Potential entitled "Sparkle/Charmed" recorded by Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Red Red Meat). Soon after, Mark Rew joined the group, followed by the newest band member Keith Brown (definite relation to Kerry).
Accomplishing that hip n' happening status with the kids, the band spent three months in the Top Ten of the CMJ Top 150. Since the album's release, CATHERINE completed a tour with DIG, finished a tour with the LONDON SUEDE, then supported superstars HOLE. They also co-headlined a tour with LETTERS TO CLEO.