#thecatherines

7/18/26.

theCatherines (Hamburg, Germany) have been very busy for the past couple of months. "Nuff Said EP" is the 5th release in 2026, the 3rd physical. Heiko Schneider's long running project has always been a pop project, but has shifted its style of pop often over the past 8 years - our first post was in December 2018.

I love "Nuff Said EP" because Heiko let us in on his inspiration: "The idea for this EP sparked when we were listening to some albums from Heiko‘s youth...Buzzcocks, Joy Division, firehose, Joe Jackson… and some more… so we thought: why not make some songs in the tradition, style, sound of these? And this is what we did!"

I've never done a top 10 list, and I didn't intend to this year. Really, I just wanted to remind people how amazing the Charlie Ivan Band LP is. A top 10 list seemed to be the ideal way to accomplish this task. I wanted only to review 2024 on this blog - not necessarily just 2024 releases. I decided the actual top number would be whatever I came up with after looking over every post of 2024. I actually assumed it would be more than 10, but my fairly cursory review led me to exactly 10, so I'm sticking with the first run through.

You can review the year by clicking "ARCHIVE" on the left. Here we go:

10. Love Banana 7". "Get In" sucked me in with its Clean-like sound.

9. theCatherines "If I Had Known Then". "Minigolf" might be the sweetest childhood song I've ever heard.

8. fantasy of a broken heart "Feats of Engineering". I immediately thought of Frog, but what kept me coming back was all the unexpected musical directions with still great melodies.

7. Maple Fyshh, "You Are Leaving My Mind: The "Mariko" and "Dokitto Station!!" Era". Sometimes surfy, always poppy. I spent November listening to this over and over.

6. Balloon "Gas 'n' Air". There's definitely a bit of recency bias here, but "Hooligan" and "There Is Love" are really two of my favorite songs of the year.

5. Mekons "Fear and Whiskey". Any band that simultaneously can make me think of The Pogues and The Go-Betweens moves to the front of the class. I can't believe I waited this long in life to give into the magic of Mekons.

4. BMX Bandits "Dreamers On The Run". I bought two BMX Bandits LPs this year, but "Dreamers On The Run" gets the nod as the 2024 release. "Setting Sun" is just amazing. "Bee Stings" was also reissued in 2024.

3. Beachwood Sparks "Across The River Of Stars". Probably my most listened to LP from the 2024 posts. "Torn In Two" is beautiful as are many songs off this album. I also saw them play at The Great American Music Hall.

2. Charlie Ivan Band "Where The Dogs Go To Die". This one just won't let go. I can't help but think of fellow Aussie Michael Beach, but there are just so many good songs here. "Sky's Bleeding" into "I'll Take You Down" was my favorite one-two punch of the year.

4/14/20.

theCatherines (Hamburg, Germany) just keep getting better and better.  This album has more of a Beach Boys vibe in spots, but I still think the influences of Teenage Fanclub, Belle & Sebastian and late-Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci still stand out.  But the musicianship seems a bit stronger, and the hooks maybe even more memorable.

Heiko Schneider (writes all the songs and plays all the instruments) and Sandra provides beautiful vocals (some lead, some backing).

Maybe even more remarkable is the speed with which theCatherines produce music.  They have produced four winners since December 2018.

11/12/19.

theCatherines (Hamburg, Germany) song titles remind me a bit of Belle and Sebastian.  The music does as well.  I love that this cassette is called “This Is Good!”.  The title and the music are accurate.

Full disclosure:  I own nearly the entire catalogue from The Catherines.  There’s no reason to fully disclose this, but in our current political climate, I thought I should let everyone know.

3/3/24.

theCatherines are a Hamburg-based "band" that basically is Heiko Schneider and a revolving cast of supporters. Heiko has been steadily releasing music for nearly the past decade from his Teeny Tiny Studios.

His work has been evolving into more synth based pop (check out the last track "Love Is The Monster"), but there is still plenty of pop in the vein of The Lookyloos, BMX Bandits, Gruff Rhys and R.E.M. (listen to "Ned Rorem Said").

9/2/23.

theCatherines have long been a favorite. As much as I love great pop, I would have been a fool not to fall for Heiko Schneider's Hamburg, Germany based band.

Earlier releases tended to be pop in the vein of Teenage Fanclub or Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. This is a bit groovier , smoother and more loungy. Think Maxwell Farrington and Le SuperHomard or Louis Philippe.

4/14/20.

theCatherines (Hamburg, Germany) just keep getting better and better.  This album has more of a Beach Boys vibe in spots, but I still think the influences of Teenage Fanclub, Belle & Sebastian and late-Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci still stand out.  But the musicianship seems a bit stronger, and the hooks maybe even more memorable.

Heiko Schneider (writes all the songs and plays all the instruments) and Sandra provides beautiful vocals (some lead, some backing).

Maybe even more remarkable is the speed with which theCatherines produce music.  They have produced four winners since December 2018.

3/3/19.

I went to Minneapolis on the 28th to see The Chills with my good friend Jon.  I will be repeating on 3/6 with Micah.  There are certain people I really like seeing music with.  Micah (of course) and Jon are two of them.

I was waiting in the airport yesterday and checking email.  theCatherines (Hamburg, Germany) announced the reissue of their first album by FAR Records (of which I couldn’t find any information).  I listened to a few of the songs and immediately noticed the difference from the release I posted about on 12/7/18.  This release is louder and a bit more hectic.  Still all of the hallmarks of pop songwriting and harmonies are here...just a little more buried in the fuzz.