If you’ve caught Cat Ryan at a festival over the last few years — and chances are you have, given they’ve been making the rounds at Truck, Y NOT, Kendal Calling and The Great Escape — you might already know ‘Free From This’ without realising it.
It’s the song that always lands. The one that makes people lean in. And now, finally, it’s got a proper release.
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PRESS PHOTOS BY ELLEN DIXON | COVER PHOTO BY MARY-ANNE MURPHY
The track holds a pretty special place in the Cat Ryan story. Frontperson Mary-Anne Murphy has talked about how this was the song where everything clicked — where the sound they’d been searching for suddenly had a name and a shape. The band formed in Newcastle, built a following on the back of a close-knit scene that champions artists doing things their own way, and ‘Free From This’ is the purest distillation of that ethos: bright, hooky, guitar-led indie-pop with a real sense of joy to it.
Sonically it’s got that surf-pop bounce that’s all over the best tracks in this lane right now — think Vampire Weekend with a Northern edge, or Hippo Campus with a bit more grit. The guitars are angular and punchy, the rhythm section keeps things moving, and the whole thing is mixed and mastered by Tilly Louise with enough clarity that every element gets its moment.
Cat Ryan have already picked up Radio 1, 6 Music and Radio X plays, plus a New Music Friday spot, so the groundwork is clearly there. ‘Free From This’ feels like the track that ties it all together — a belated debut that doubles as a reminder of exactly why this band are worth your time.
Free From This is where Cat Ryan began. I’d been writing music for years, but when this song came together I remember thinking – this is the sound I didn’t even know I was looking for. From then, I knew exactly the direction I was going in, and consequently decided on the name Cat Ryan for my artist name. It was a pivotal moment for me as a songwriter.
Since moving to Newcastle and forming the band, we’ve been playing Free From This live for years and it always felt like it deserved a proper release. It’s been sitting in my demos folder ever since writing it, and coming back to it, re-recording it and finally putting it out feels like closing a chapter before moving onto releasing our newer material.
– MARY-ANNE MURPHY (lead vocals & guitar)
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