Catfish Haven - Devastator (2008)

Catfish Haven, led by the booming voice and songwriting of frontman George Hunter, seem to have all the right ingredients in place to be something really special, so it's a bit mystifying why this second full-length feels like it comes up just a bit short. Things start promisingly and with a bang, as Hunter gives the opener, "Are You Ready," a soulful, gospel intensity, but even though he's in fine voice on the rest of the album, the first song is really the peak here, and the addition of saxophone on the track gives it a real R&B punch. The short, sweet, and simple "Halftime Show" (yes, it comes exactly halfway through the sequence) is a kinetic pleasure, as well, but it's really more a placeholder than an actual song, and the closer, "Every Day," is quite moving and lovely, but on the whole, although Hunter gives every track the best vocal intensity he can muster and the playing is solid, the songs here feel like a rewrite or two away from being what they should be. That doesn't mean this is a bad album. That isn't the case at all. This is a band whose heart is in the right place, and there's something to be said for that, and they rock hard and with fervor, but all too often the song fades from memory as soon as it ends. The best songs should linger long after the singing is over. Catfish Haven needs more of those kinds of songs.