Catfish Heaven Devastator by: Ed Butler Mon:13-Oct-08 Label: Secretly Canadian Year: 2008 WB rating 75 out of 100

The phrase ‘crossover hit’ has picked up a life of its own in recent years. Denoting the band that makes the oh-so sought after leap from indie obscurity to some measure of commercial success; it has reached ever-greater heights of ubiquity of late. Modest Mouse had a crossover hit with ‘Float On’, Franz Ferdinand with ‘Take Me Out’. Drug-induced tabloid escapades notwithstanding, Amy Winehouse is a walking testament to the crossover hit.

And she has a secret. Yes, it’s bluesy, grimy soul, but there’s enough of a pop aesthetic to Back to Black to make it appealing to the broader public. Jet and Wolfmother both shamelessly pilfer the godfathers of rock, but package themselves in shiny, modern-day threads and marketing. They work. Pure, revisionist rock, a la Black Mountain or Comets on Fire does not. The unwashed masses have no love of genre.

Which brings us to the delightfully named Catfish Haven, and their third album, Devastator. The Chicago-based indie-RnB outfit are not, and likely will never be, a crossover success. They remain resolutely determined to produce traditional rhythm and blues – imagine the Blues Brothers still kicking around the diner circuit, having long ago been abandoned by their hirsute horn section. Not that it matters. The three compatriots who comprise Catfish Haven are more than hairy enough to compensate. Indeed, it is reassuring to see a band so determined to avoid anyone even resembling a stylist in these days of Kings of Leon actually looking cool.

Like Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings last year, Catfish Haven, in their enthusiastic embrace of a rigidly stylized sound, have foregone commercial appeal. However, while making world domination tougher, making straight-up old school RnB is certainly no inhibitor of some damn fine tunes.

And none come finer than the opener, ‘Are You Ready’. Defiantly dispensing with a question mark, it is a straight-up slice of thumping bluesy groove, recorded live, and an ideal introduction to the sound Devastator has to offer. Frontman, lyricist and guitarist George Hunter is possessed of a set of pipes that blues and rock singers the world over must grow up lusting after, throaty, coarse and unimaginably shout-along-able.

And shout along one may, lyrics constantly rhyming, favouring rhythm over melody, just as it should. The lyrics, too, stake no claim to high art, but "good women" or "paying the bills". Ah, the travails of the everyman. Hunter's voice is vintage stuff, carrying the words with authority, and sits alongside the rhythm section's tight grooves with a precision that one only really finds in, well, old RnB groups. And bear in mind, this is no hyper-lame Mariah Carey style RnB, but good, down-to-earth old fashioned bluesy rock, right down the downright sultry silhouetted legs/high heels combination on the cover.

And even when they do deign to mix genres, it morphs into a bastardised version of 80s cock-rock called 'Full Speed', complete with wah-wah guitar solo reminiscent of Van Halen at their most kooky. But, lest we forget, this is no excursion into high-falutin' artsy territory, but a band that wants to make feet tap, heads nod, and booties shake. And in this department, the band's progenitors have provided plenty of fodder.

Horns sporadically appear to bring arrangements to life, giving another layer of wholesome blues cred to what is already an impressively authentic package. The appearance of a female backing group, with a near-gospel sound, on numbers - like the ultra sexy 'Set in Stone' which sounds like Otis Redding doing The Commitments doing Prince – recalls the fact that rock and roll is essentially the melding of traditional white music and traditional black music, and is all the better for it.

So, no, Catfish Haven are unlikely to take the world by storm – after all they probably would have by now if they ever were – but adherence to genre should be no obstacle to those looking for good-time music. If only the music business would allow some unpretentious entertainment through occasionally, like Hollywood happily release schlock horror flick after schlock horror flick, the world would be a happier place. And Catfish Haven would get that little bit more attention – attention that, on the basis of this effort, they thoroughly deserve.