Catfish and the Bottlemen, a British rock band from North Wales, released their debut album, The Balcony, in 2014 and made it big in the British music industry. It reached number 10 on the UK album charts and went on to achieve platinum status two years later. I would personally rate the album five stars.

The members of Catfish and the Bottlemen are Van McCann on lead vocals, Bob Hall on drums, Billy Bibby on guitar, and Benji Blakeway on bass. Together, their special talents compliment each other and produce extraordinary music.

McCann and Blakeway grew up together as best friends and started their musical careers in middle school band class. They soon formed their own band and became very well known in the UK and eventually the United States and other countries around the world.

As a debut, it is quite impressive to see the band have so much success early in their career. While listening to the songs, you never suspect that it is their first album because it is of such high quality and development.

The album captures life for young adults and all the learning experiences that come with it. It displays the struggles many people come across over time, while hanging on to the happiness and joy felt after the suffering.

It starts off with the song “Homesick,” which describes what it’s like to be in love and feel heartbreak. The track has a mellow beat in the beginning and soon works up to heavy guitar riffs. McCann’s vocals add a lot of emotion to the song which makes it easy for people to relate to.

Other songs like “Pacifier” and “Hourglass” describe life after going through hardship and explain how difficult it is to be resilient. Both songs have very different sounds, but still maintain the same message. “Hourglass” has a very mellow tone with a hint of sadness while “Pacifier” has a strong beat filled with anger and tension.

Each song helps create the album’s theme, which centers around love. McCann and his very talented band members knocked it out of the park with this album which simply describes their own lives.

I recommend The Balcony to anyone in a lovesick mood looking for great songs to relate to. Every track has a sentimental value that is guaranteed to touch your heart and get your foot tapping.