Scottish Rockers Catholic Action Announce New Album, Share Lead Single “One of Us”

Glasgow rockers Catholic Action have shared the details of their second album Celebrated By Strangers, out on March 27, 2020, via Modern Sky, and they’ve also shared its lead single, “One of Us.” The band recently supported We Were Promised Jetpacks on their North American tour, and they’ve also made two appearances at SXSW in support of their debut album In Memory Of. Paste featured Catholic Action on our list of 15 British bands you need to know in 2018 last February.

“One Of Us” is a fuzzy rock toast to the average Joes and a skewering of the ruling class. Has there ever been a critique of late capitalism with so much bouncy guitar joy? Catholic Action’s ebullient, distorted guitar pop is as snappy as ever. Lead vocalist Chris McCrory is both pointed and charming as he proudly describes himself as “the welfare son of a welfare son.” It’s a call to wake up and smell the roses of deliberate inequality and distraction, and Catholic Action manage this merry ode without trivializing the real-life suffering that’s become rampant.

McCrory says of the song:

“One of Us” was written as a direct response to what I see happening in the U.K.—a country ravaged by poverty and a disintegrating social fabric of increasingly isolated and intoxicated people. A neglected group spun in circles by an uncaring billionaire-owned media, (mis)led into pointing the finger at one another as opposed to those truly responsible for this situation. A depressing but common problem in 2019…sound familiar? This song is a comment on the aggressive divide and conquer politics that has kept this status quo of radical inequality in the U.K. firmly in place. Keep the people divided, drugged and distracted. Racism, sectarianism, vodka, sexism, PornHub, classism, Remain or Leave, heroin, Netflix…Whatever works—just don’t let them rise above their station. I believe people are good hearted at their core but are embittered and led astray by what they’re fed—what they’re seeing, hearing and being told. As long as we stay divided, nothing will ever change. So it’s pretty simple. If people want to shift the status quo they need to organise, come together and fight for equality—a way of life that’s positive, progressive and inclusive. We’re all human (apparently) after all. So, are you one of them, or one of us?

Listen to “One of Us,” and see their album tracklist and artwork below.

Celebrated By Strangers Artwork:

Celebrated By Strangers Tracklist:
01. Grange Hell (South London In D)
02. Witness
03. I’m No Artist
04. One Of Us
05. Yr Old Dad
06. And It Shows
07. People Don’t Protest Enough
08. Another Name For Loneliness
09. Sign Here
10. There Will Always Be A Light
11. Four Guitars (For Scottish Independence)