The Catenary Wires

The Catenary Wires formed in 2014. Initially a duo, Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey were previously in Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research and Tender Trap. The first Catenary Wires album Red Red Skies (Elefant/Matinée Recordings, 2015) was a marked departure from the fuzzy girl-group pop of their earlier bands. It was sparse, emotive and melancholy. A one-off 7" single What About The Rings? followed (WIAIWYA, 2018). With the release of their second album Til The Morning (Tapete, 2019), the band expanded to include Andy Lewis (ex-Spearmint/Paul Weller Band) on bass, Fay Hallam (ex-Makin' Time) on Hammond organ, and Ian Button on drums (ex-Thrashing Doves/Death In Vegas). Til the Morning was also produced by Andy Lewis. On the third album Birling Gap (Skep Wax/Shelflife, 2021), the Catenary Wires are brimming with melodies and harmonies, as sweet as anything on a Heavenly album, but with more adult pre-occupations. Much of the album is about being English, but living in an England which has told itself too many comforting lies. Rob and Amelia reflect on different aspects of their small island, through a set of cracked duets. Anxiety about the future and nostalgia for the past are equally potent. The band’s name refers to the chain of curves made by the overhead cables seen suspended from pylons or above electric trains, cables that can seem to lead you off to somewhere different and unknown.