July 20, 2001

Catatonia : Stone By Stone

Oh, you know, they've got a new single out and it's like all the rest, and fuck, why are you bothering even considering reading this?

It's a funny thing about decades. They never really get started 'till a couple of years in. It wasn't until 1992 that everyone agreed to stop wearing shoulder pads and dancing like robots from the future. And so it is in the summer of 2001 that we start thinking about all the things we no longer like about the last century.

We've remembered to put Jeffrey Archer in prison. We've stopped being interested in Caprice. And there's a creeping regret about your oriental tattoo that was supposed to say 'Peace' but causes great hilarity and mimes of toilets flushing every time you visit a Chinese restaurant.

Also seeming awkwardly out of date are Catatonia. 'Stone By Stone' only serves to remind us that if you sell your soul to the novelty-hit demon then the price is public disinterest in your sincere follow -ups. Just ask Right Said Fred or Space. Hence release dates have been shifted, tours rescheduled, and appearances on Exclusive and Liquid News are the desperate order of the day.

'Stone By Stone' is lumpen, the voice grating, and the group are fading from the public consciousness quicker than Shane Ritchie. "Should old acquaintance be forgot..." How does the rest go?

Timothy Mark

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