ALBUM REVIEW: Common Sense Holiday – Haggard Cat

HAGGARD CAT might be one of the more harshly judged bands in recent years. After HECK unfortunately split before their time in 2017, it felt like there was a lot of pressure on Matt Reynolds and Tom Marsh as they decided to focus on HAGGARD CAT. A lot of unfair comparisons were made between the two bands despite them being very different beasts. Still, HAGGARD CAT have just kept on rolling and now they are back with their third album Common Sense Holiday.

One thing both bands did share was an ability to create an almighty racket. And whilst HAGGARD CAT might not the wrecking ball HECK were, on Common Sense Holiday they have delivered one of the wildest punk rock albums on the year so far. Opener First Words kicks off the album with the first of many gargantuan riffs as Tom absolutely batters his drum kit. For a two piece it’s always impressive just how thick a sound HAGGARD CAT are capable of. It’s the sort of song that would sound at home in both tiny clubs and much bigger Academy Venue. Something they manage to deliver over and over again on this album.

Take European Hardware for example, a wild blast of punk filled with rock and roll swagger and huge hook that will get stuck into your head. But the song is still filled with several twists and turns, especially when it comes to Matt‘s guitar playing. It’s also a very political song, the whole album is political but this is one of the more blunt moments. Especially when you combine it with the video, which saw the band encase themselves in a concrete box for 24 hours to protest Brexit and just give a visual representation of what this country is doing to itself.

It’s not all just riffs and punk fury though as HAGGARD CAT draw from plenty of different influences. The Natives sees the band go full psychedelic rock and provides a nice change of pace. Elsewhere there’s plenty of swaggering garage rock, with a track like Show Reel almost sounding like a dirtier version of DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979. Arguably one of the album’s weaknesses is that it is slightly lacking in originality. Most of what HAGGARD CAT do here can be traced back to other bands. But when the quality of the songs is this good and the band still find creative ways to bring in these influences it’s hardly the biggest problem.

Common Sense Holiday is comfortably the best record HAGGARD CAT have put out. It’s not a game changer by any means but it’s still a wild ride from start to finish and by the time the massive closing track Ghosts Already finishes fans will almost definitely be left wanting more. It’s a full blown blast of live wire rock and roll that will likely see HAGGARD CAT continue to rise up.

Rating: 8/10 

Common Sense Holiday is out now via Earache Records.

For more information on HAGGARD CAT like their official page on Facebook.