International Velvet (album)

International Velvet is the second album by Welsh band Catatonia. It was the band's breakthrough, reaching number 1 in the UK Albums Chart, spawning two Top 10 singles, "Mulder and Scully" and "Road Rage", three other Top 40 singles, "I Am the Mob", "Game On" and "Strange Glue", and catapulted the band and lead singer Cerys Matthews into the spotlight. Album sales reached 900,000, as it became one of the biggest selling albums of 1998 in the United Kingdom. The album was also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.

International Velvet
Studio album by
Catatonia
Released2 February 1998
Recorded1997–1998
GenreAlternative rock
Length44:56
LabelBlanco y Negro
ProducerTommyD, Catatonia
Catatonia chronology
Way Beyond Blue
(1996)		 International Velvet
(1998)		 Equally Cursed and Blessed
(1999)
Singles from International Velvet
  1. "I Am the Mob"
    Released: 18 October 1997
  2. "Mulder and Scully"
    Released: 31 January 1998
  3. "Road Rage"
    Released: 2 May 1998
  4. "Strange Glue"
    Released: 1 August 1998
  5. "Game On"
    Released: 7 November 1998

Background

Catatonia were originally formed in 1992 with Mark Roberts and singer Cerys Matthews being part of the band that released the critically acclaimed EP "For Tinkerbell" in 1993. Drummer Aled Richards and guitarist Owen Powell joined prior to the release of their first album Way Beyond Blue and the line-up remained the same for International Velvet.[1][2] Warner Bros. Records had intended to release "Lost Cat" from Way Beyond Blue in the United States in 1996, but due to problems at the record label the band had never released anything in the US until International Velvet.[3]

Release

International Velvet was released in the United Kingdom on 2 February 1998, following the earlier releases of both "I Am the Mob" the previous October and "Mulder and Scully" a few days earlier. It was awarded 3x Platinum status by the British Phonographic Industry on 12 November 1999, meaning that in 22 months it had sold over 900,000 copies.[4] The album was Catatonia's first release in the United States by the Vapor label owned by Neil Young, but it did not chart and according to The Washington Post was "overlooked".[5] It was Catatonia's first album release in the United States.[6] The success of the album was seen as launching the band into the public spotlight.[7]

Five singles were released from the album. "I Am the Mob" was released on 18 October 1997, and became the first single to reach the top 40 in the United Kingdom having reached number 40 in the chart.[8] "Mulder and Scully" became their breakout hit, reaching number three in the charts and subsequent single "Road Rage" reaching number five. The final two singles did not reach the top ten, with "Strange Glue" getting to number 11 and "Game On" only reaching number 33.[8] As part of the opening ceremony for the 1999 Rugby World Cup at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, Catatonia performed the title track from the album.[9] That track had become an unofficial Welsh anthem due in part to the chorus "Every day when I wake up I thank the Lord I'm Welsh".[10] To promote the album, the band undertook its biggest tour to date.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The Guardian[12]
The Independent[13]
NME6/10[14]
Pitchfork7.8/10[15]
Select4/5[16]
Wall of Sound77/100[17]

The NME said that International Velvet showed Catatonia "to be more versatile than you ever thought possible for such a white-bread guitar group",[14] and that while "I Am the Mob" and "Road Rage" were "out-and-out pop songs",[14] "My Selfish Gene" was a "masterstroke".[14] However, NME felt that when Catatonia performed "typical guitar pop" they lacked excitement.[14] The Washington Post thought that International Velvet wasn't as consistent as its predecessor but included it in a list of the best albums of 1998.[18] The Independent felt the album fulfilled the promise the band had shown for years.[13]

Legacy

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine thought that the album fails "as often as it succeeds" in changing the band's sound from a late-80's indie pop to something more akin to hard rock.[11] He thought that "I am the Mob" and "Mulder and Scully" had good hooks but were gimmicky and found it hard to understand all the pop culture references. Overall, he felt that the previous album, Way Beyond Blue delivered a better experience.[11]

The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize 1998,[19] which was awarded to Gomez for Bring It On.[20] DJ Steve Lamacq hosted a special on International Velvet on his BBC Radio 6 Music series Classic Albums of the 90s in 2010.[21]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mulder and Scully"Cerys Matthews, Mark Roberts4:11
2."Game On"Cerys Matthews, Mark Roberts2:51
3."I Am the Mob"Mark Roberts, Catatonia3:09
4."Road Rage"Cerys Matthews, Mark Roberts5:09
5."Johnny Come Lately"Cerys Matthews, Catatonia4:36
6."Goldfish and Paracetamol"Cerys Matthews, Paul Jones3:50
7."International Velvet"Mark Roberts, Catatonia4:23
8."Why I Can't Stand One Night Stands"Mark Roberts, Catatonia2:40
9."Part of the Furniture"Cerys Matthews, Mark Roberts4:08
10."Don't Need the Sunshine"Owen Powell, Catatonia3:49
11."Strange Glue"Owen Powell, Catatonia3:44
12."My Selfish Gene"Mark Roberts, Catatonia2:27
Total length:44:56
2015 reissue bonus disc[22]
No.TitleLength
1."I Am the Mob" (Luca Brasi mix) 
2."Jump or Be Sane" 
3."No Stone Unturned" 
4."Mantra for the Lost" 
5."Mulder and Scully" (The Ex-Files) 
6."Road Rage" (radio edit) 
7."I'm Cured" 
8."Blow the Millennium (part 2)" 
9."Road Rage" (Ghia) 
10."That's All Folks" 
11."Road Rage" (live) 
12."Strange Glue" (live acoustic version) 
13."Mulder and Scully" (live in Newport) 

Personnel
Catatonia
Production
  • Tommy D - producer, mixing
  • Joe Gibb - engineer, mixing
  • Jason Harris - assistant engineer
  • Paul Read - engineering on "Game On"
  • Greg Haver - engineering on "Johnny Come Lately"
  • Roland Herrington - mixing on "Mulder and Scully", "Game On", "Road Rage" and "Strange Glue"
  • Dave Bascombe - mixing on "I Am the Mob"
  • Joseph Cultice - photography
  • Nigel Schermuly - photography

Charts and certifications

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] 3× Platinum 900,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[30] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Singles
Year Song Peak positions
AUS[31]
 IRE[32]
UK[8]
1997 "I Am the Mob" — — 40
1998 "Mulder and Scully" — 17 3
"Road Rage" 40 29 5
"Strange Glue" — — 11
"Game On" — — 33

  • An en-dash (–) denotes countries in which the singles were not released or did not chart.

References
  1. "Troubled Catatonia split up". BBC News. 21 September 2001. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  2. "Cool Cerys comes top". BBC News. 8 June 1999. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  3. "Label misses chance to distribute hit song". The New York Times. 14 August 1998. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  4. "Certified Awards – Certification Levels". BPI. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  5. Jenkins, Mark (29 March 2000). "Catatonia: Time to wake America". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  6. Jenkins, Mark (9 August 1998). "Welsh Band Catatonia: Internationalists Abroad". The Washington Post. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  7. "Cerys in Control". The Daily Telegraph. 25 March 1999. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  8. "Catatonia". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  9. "World Cup Kicks off in Style". BBC News. 1 October 1999. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  10. Bourton, Tim (17 July 2004). "Cerys makes festival return". BBC News. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "International Velvet – Catatonia". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
  12. Sullivan, Caroline (30 January 1998). "Catatonia: International Velvet (WEA)". The Guardian.
  13. Lewis, Angela (7 February 1998). "Pop: Album reviews". The Independent. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  14. Cigarettes, Johnny (23 January 1998). "Catatonia – International Velvet". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  15. Mohan, Aparna. "Catatonia: International Velvet". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 24 January 2001. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  16. Wilkinson, Roy (March 1998). "Catatonia: International Velvet". Select (93): 85.
  17. Abbott, Spence. "Review: International Velvet". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 15 April 2001. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  18. "The Best of 1998: Music". The Washington Post. 1 January 1999. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  19. "Albums of the Year: 1998". Mercury Prize. Archived from the original on 15 September 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  20. "Mercury Rising: Gomez Win '98 Album Prize". NME. 17 August 1998. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  21. "Classic Albums of the 90s: Catatonia – International Velvet". BBC Radio 6 Music. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  22. "International Velvet". Demon Music Group. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  23. "Australiancharts.com – Catatonia – International Velvet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  24. "Charts.nz – Catatonia – International Velvet". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  25. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  26. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  27. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1998". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  28. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1999". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  29. "British album certifications – Catatonia – International Velvet". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 April 2015. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type International Velvet in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  30. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1999". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  31. Steffen Hung. "Catatonia – International Velvet". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
  32. "Search the Charts". The Irish Charts. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
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