Cat Ryan are back from a short hiatus with an absolutely explosive new single in ‘Rex Mundi’, a track about running from life’s problems and inspired by a greyhound. Molly Wroe caught up with the band to find out more about the track and their return back to music after graduating from university.
Are you hoping to inspire people with the message of your latest single?
There’s definitely an inspirational direction to the lyrics. The narrative focuses on the protagonist – the greyhound – running from social injustice but eventually realising he isn’t the problem and becoming strong enough to rise up against it. Whilst it’s a broad story and doesn’t quite state specifics on what the social injustice is, I suppose this allows it to be applicable to any situation and perhaps listeners can be influenced by the general moral of the story. Sonically, I can sort of imagine it being a motivating song to run to.
What is your favourite lyric in the song?
Personally, the line ‘I stop for a breather and a peach iced tea’. It’s just a simple sentence yet it adds a touch of relatability in a fun way. I also have to mention the lyric ‘A hare in my face, how can I see?’ because it has an ambiguous meaning. If the listener hasn’t seen the lyrics they might presume ‘hare’ is spelt ‘hair’ but it still works both ways. It’s just a subtle greyhound racing reference and I tried to be a little witty with it.
Can we expect more up-tempo fast songs like ‘Rex Mundi’ on the EP?
‘Rex Mundi’ is an unusually fast song for us and has a drumbeat you probably won’t hear again in our discography. I think it’s important to have a sense of variety so we’ve carefully selected the songs to make sure the EP does have that. As you listen, you’ll notice various elements like angular guitars, experimental synth and drum sounds and varied tempos and moods, but it’s all recognisably ‘Cat Ryan’ and that’s what ties it together.
Is there an artistic reason behind now having two drummers as part of the band?
To be honest, no. Our original drummer Simon has been quite busy recently so we’ve brought Charlie into the band as a second drummer. They take it in turns and it’s handy having two options. However, our bassist, Evie, also recently joined the line-up which has certainly upped our live game. I now can’t really see how we played without a bass for so long. ‘Rex Mundi’ has a particularly notable bassline so it’ll be great to be able to translate that into live shows with the added bass guitar.
What are you looking forward to most from this comeback to music after university?
Well, myself, Simon and Lucas graduated last year and have been preparing for the EP ever since, which is definitely what I’d been most looking forward to working on. It’s been a long time coming so our own anticipation for the EP release has built up and we’re particularly excited to play ‘Rex Mundi’ live!
You can listen to ‘Rex Mundi’ now on all major streaming platforms.
