Album/EP

Catholic Guilt - This Is What Honesty Sounds Like (EP Review)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Aug 29, 2020

7 min read

Catholic Guilt – This Is What Honesty Sounds Like
Released; 28^th August, 2020

Line-up:

Brenton Harris // Vocals
Bryce Novotny // Guitar/Vocals
Dean Gordon // Guitar/Vocals
Ben Caruana // Bass Guitar
James Noble // Drums/Piano

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Born on the mean streets of Melbourne, Catholic Guilt have described their sound as a mixture of folk, alternative-rock and punk that they say is ‘honest music’. The five-piece signed with Canadian based WireTap Records this June, and are releasing their brand new EP, This Is What Honesty Sounds Like this week.

The EP kicks off with ‘A Boutique Affair’ and some of the most relatable lyrics I have ever heard in my almost 27 years on this earth. ‘It’s hard to make friends in your twenties, it’s even harder to make em in your thirties, at this point I’m really dreading the thought of making it to my forties’ are the opening lyrics and honestly, in this day and age, who doesn’t relate to them? Especially when we’re living in the COVID-19 induced society we live in now. It comes across as bit of a satirical song, but it’s also a bunch of fun. It’s definitely a song for the outcasts, and if you’ve ever felt like one of those then boy is this going to hit you!. ‘Song Of The Renter’ is track two and it makes a lot of jokes about hipsters in the North, and drummers in the South, among other things that make it really fun. I actually giggled my way through the track, and I’m looking forward to live gigs making a come back so I can go and rock out to it live. Being socially aware seems to be a big thing in the music industry at the moment, and the boys making fun of what Melbourne is like is actually perfect.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhudrg-8-tw&w=560&h=315]

‘Life In Three Part Harmony’ is fittingly track 3 and it opens with some really pretty instrumentals before the vocals kick in. It’s definitely the ballad on the record and is just really, really pretty. Pretty musically, and pretty vocally. If you’re a big lover of music, the lyric ‘music is the dialect of your soul’ is definitely going to make you feel something. Released way back in June of 2019, track four is ‘The Awful Truth’ and it’s the most serious track on the EP. It tackles the subject matter of the bands name, catholic guilt, in a really non-intrusive and non-abrasive way. It just shows how aware the five-piece are of the things that are happening in our society and in religion, and they aren’t afraid to get themselves into hot water with the songs subject matter. Even if you’re unaware of what they’re talking about in the song, the lyrics and the message are clear. This is the awful truth and these things are really happening and I think they have tackled it beautifully in this track.

‘Nothing’ is sadly the final track on the EP, and I say sadly because I really enjoyed this one. The intro of this song gave me Paul Kelly ‘Everything’s Turning To White’ vibes, especially with the instrumentals. It’s a song about loss and really tugs on the heart-strings and is a beautiful way to wrap up the EP.

Overall, ‘This Is What Honesty Sounds Like’ is a fresh take on a lot of different things that everybody faces in their day to day lives, as well as things that we face as a society. The five piece have done a really nice job of tackling these things with a perfect balance of seriousness and satire. My only negative comments are that I need more and I need it now! It’s a great outing and I look forward to what comes next.