Album Review: Catrina, Go

Nat Hathaway is multi-instrumentalist and producer based in Auckland, New Zealand, and Catrina, Go is his second album. Hathaway is also a prolific YouTube and Instagram creator, very much in keeping with the 21st century methodology. While that probably falls outside the bounds of an album review, it’s still worth mentioning here as it genuinely works alongside this album contextually. He is an agreeable and engaging presenter and the content gives valuable context and insight into his process.

An early word about the ‘retro’ angle – it’s a thing to be sure, and worth considering. Hathaway is passionate about the 70’s vibe, and it is a strong element that informs his work here. The danger for a listener and reviewer is that it would be a trap to fall into a ‘list all the references’ (how about Supertramp. Genesis, Alan Parsons and Steely Dan, just for starters?) methodology and stop there. Ultimately, this is unfair. It’s important to note how his work strives for authenticity in its retrospection, not only in timbre but also in the writing, arrangement and performance practice. His whole approach here is reverential rather than ironic, and he invests a great deal in musical skill, understanding of genre and experience to these tunes.

As such, Vacation is as good a place as any to start. The first 30 seconds alone have some really nifty arrangement touches- listen for those unexpectedly syncopated stabs on the bass, drums and keys- and the song opens up nicely into a chorus with an effective and well supported melody. The effect is bright and lively, but with a solid anchor of musicality.

The arrangements throughout lean heavily on the keyboards, with Hathaway’s ear for authenticity to the fore. This makes for plenty of single note melody lines, as well as the kind of orchestration that allows for rich, sophisticated chord extensions- listen to this in full effect on the chorus of Say You Do. These combinations of timbres and rich harmonies are highly effective, and invests the music with a real sense of colour. It’s a stark and refreshing comparison to the modern ‘use the presets’ approach. Having an experienced keyboard player like Joe Kaptein on deck, only underlines that point.

In addition, credit also needs to go to the work on bass and drums. This kind of effortless virtuosity often slips by a casual listener, but make no mistake it takes a rhythm section of real quality to make this material work properly. The bass work of Hathaway and the drums of Tom Broome and Ben Frater is pretty much exemplary and while Hathaway is keen to point out the organic nature of the performances, any such assertions are largely redundant. The authenticity of the playing is clear from the first listen, and remains a consistently enjoyable feature of this whole album.

Nat Hathaway’s second full length album Catrina, Go shines. It is full of instrumental colour, and is very much a reflection of a 21st century approach to a 70’s palette of ideas and sounds. The writing, arrangements and performances all add up to a mature and assured album that rewards multiple listens.