Catbamboo, known for their lush fusion licks and energetic style, have doubled down on stylish shred for their newest offering, “Swindle,” once again featuring Rafa Rodriguez.
Rodriguez appeared with the band in previous single “Backpedal,” and can be heard on the razor-sharp guitar solo at the end of the track.
“Swindle” also features some nifty footwork in the drum department. Brandon Johnson nearly matches guitarist Ky Williams note-for-note on several of the song’s more technical passages with a perfect blend of pocket and groove. Beyond that, it also happens to be the first thing the band has released since recruiting a second guitarist.
So how does Catbamboo sound with three guitars?
Pretty freakin’ sweet.
Even at it’s chillest, what stands out the most about “Swindle” is it’s quantum leap in terms of production. Every instrument sounds clean and right at home in the overall mix. The distortion sits in a totally different place than the lighter-than-air clean guitars, and this clarity allows us to enjoy the bass and drums in a way we never could before.
Maybe those are things not everyone will notice, but to us, they’ve never sounded more ready to take the world on than they do here. We’ll see what happens, and we’ll definitely be keeping our eye out for more from Catbamboo in the coming months.
The track officially releases on Spotify May 15th, but if you go here, you can stream it in advance from the Catbamboo Bandcamp page.