A British singer and songwriter, Catherine Elms is based in Swansea and is a rapidly rising name in the South Wales music scene. The alternative rock artist, known for her melodic and brooding sound, Catherine Elms is a master in atmospheric song building and outstanding instrumental palettes that eerily blend with her melodic vocal deliveries, straddling the line between gentle, creeping, witchy, and utterly manic and bewitched.

In ‘Medusa’, easily one of Elms’s more instrumentally and melodically dark offerings to date, Elms’s presence remains largely collected throughout the song, grounding the heavy song even deeper into a rumbling, earth-shaking groove. Defined by the bass-heavy piano riff, a page seemingly taken straight from Talk Talk’s ‘Life’s What You Make It’, ‘Medusa’ trudges onward with an unsettling charisma. Slow, composed, and utterly terrifying, ‘Medusa’ is a dramatic song with memorable melodies that will sit with me for a while.

Inventive, colorful, and lovingly crafted with an edge and an unquestionable personality unique to Elms, ‘Medusa’ is a welcome addition to the Welsh alternative witch we’ve come to know and love.

Catherine Elms is based in Swansea. Her musical styles borrow from a number of infamous, quirky divas, such as PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, and to my ears, Kate Bush. With brash, in-you-face vocals, harrowing, smooth, and wild, Catherine’s singing is captivating and immediately compelling. Just as notable are her immediate arrangements, characterized by bold stylistic directions. From the fuzzed-out, gentle punk of Frustrations, to the grand, serene soundscapes on Monday Eyes, to the colorful, curious, dramatic Fire Song. A widely varied album with Catherine’s distinctive voice as a string that binds it all together.

From the few starting chords of All I Want Is Everything we get a taste of what Catherine’s songwriting is like. The Dramatic, massive chords sound captivating and thought-provoking. Paired with Elms’s hearty, manic yelps for bewildering results. Following that is the fantastic Frustrations. As mentioned earlier, the fuzzed-out punk atmospheres of this song are crazed and unkempt. From the hectic beats to our first true introduction to Catherine’s distinctive soprano and wacky, inflective delivery, the vibes this song delivers are energizing and a little unsettling, but in the best ways possible. Finishing this brilliant early combo is Sound And Useless Fury. Pushing hard of that punk sound, the songwriting of this song evokes a feminine version of Nick Cave & The Bad Seed’s brilliantly dark and horror-inspired albums Let Love In, and Murder Ballads from the mid-90s, with intensely charismatic, hollow-sounding piano, outstanding yelp-y delivery, and empowering lyrics. Monday Eyes ended up being a highlight for my whole month. I was truly moved by everything in this song. The serene, dynamic composition, the gorgeous words, the inspiring arrangement with heart-stopping, lush strings, a restrained, gentle beat, and rhythmic, intimate piano riffs, and of course the heartfelt, emotional delivery from Catherine. A showstopper.

When Words Run Dry is a modern rendition of Hit the Road Jack. With an almost identical chord progression, the vocals are fantastic and with outstanding presence. A very simple song with a playful heart and a ton of musical nuance. Fire Song is another masterpiece. The ambient atmosphere immediately grabs the attention, and the rich reverb on Catherine’s voice keeps it. The vast, roomy drums, again drenched in rich reverb, provide ample color and character to this piece that sets it far apart. The body of the song is introduced subtly midway, as the drums pick up their dynamic pace, with explosive tomtom rolls, as a gargantuan string section starts wailing in the background. An outstanding arrangement on the most peaceful and ethereal composition of the album. The way Good Day starts, with the tragic progression and the oppressively heavy strings makes it intensely melancholic, while the chorus introduces a definite hint of optimism. What’s really inspiring about this song is how it shifts from this tragic introduction to one of the most reaffirming and hopeful outros, as the howls of the strings transform into siren songs. Upside Down, as hinted by its name, is a musically curious sound that continually shifts between major and minor tonalities using a distinctive chord progression, for a mythical, captivating sound. A delicate stunner that’s based mostly on Catherine’s introspective, chilled-down delivery and piano, with stark strings introduced near the end, that fade out as suddenly as they fade in. A sublime composition. On the closer, Apology, another delicate, piano-led arrangement, we have a short dissonant turnaround that repeats, and every time it repeats, it’s like a portal to a different dimension of hauntingly beautiful balladry. Whether it’s the cyclic, hypnotic chorus, or the curious, jubilant verse, those magical little two bars of dissonance are a delightful compositional tool utilized to its best effect. A fantastic, intricate, dynamic closer.

 I Have Seen It, I Do Not Fear It is a stark, wonderfully quirky and dark, sublimely written and delivered an album of songs full of life, character, and intention, and the result is a supremely enriching and enjoyable listen that, while longer than average, ended up sounding brief, easy, and interesting.

In our case today, a song that calls all of us to stand together as one, in the face of injustice…

“Frustrations” is Catherine Elms’ debut studio single that stands tall, with a strong message, a call to arms-if you will-a message for all people to stand their ground and demand justice.

Catherine hails from Swansea, UK and she breathes new life in what we could describe as dark-rock-pop-epic songwriting…she’s crafting something unique, and it is evident that she put her soul into it.

Recorded at The Nest Studios with the dark orchestral band ‘Birdeatsbaby’ and ‘The Dresden Dolls’ drummer Brian Viglione…Catherine managed to create a unique mix that resulted in something that can only be described as ‘pure emotional energy’…and that energy translates easily and smoothly to anyone who listens and experience “Frustrations”.

Along with the song, a music video has also been released, the video mixes all of Catherine’s music, lyrics, energy with some striking, edgy and sometimes trippy visuals of Scott Chalmers (videographer for Jamie Lenman, Birdeatsbaby, Saint Agnes)…of course, needless to say what came out, you should check that out yourself.

So, without further ado, why don’t we get into the nitty gritty details of “Frustrations” and take the experience in…shall we?

The song doesn’t waste any time in introductions or build ups…it starts on a high note…

Wide heavy guitars, energetic and full drum beat…

A powerful piano riff…

Not a second wasted…

Then everything settles down…giving space to Catherine’s awesome vocal performance…along smooth piano chords…

…then the buildup happens, the music builds up bit by bit from that point…

Reaching a pre-chorus kind of situation that acts like harnessing all the power of the previous sections…only to explode it in the next part…

I must say, I absolutely love the design…the structure of that part…it really gets us ready and masterfully manages our energies while listening to the song…

Then comes a bridge…that has all the hallmarks of an epic rock/orchestral hybrid…

The piano masterfully performed…each chord is played with soul…

The guitars and drums are the energy core of that track, along with Catherine’s vocals…

…and let’s not forget the orchestra part near the end of the song…it adds a lot to the whole mood and feel of the song…

The choice of having an orchestral part in that song was absolutely brilliant, it fits the narrative and the music perfectly.

We loved every second of experiencing Catherine Elms’ debut studio song “Frustrations”…and will definitely be on the lookout for more awesome work from her…I mean, if that is where she starts her studio journey…I mean…the next step will be out of this world.

Catherine, we wish you all the best in the world…and a little more.

Cheers!