It's always shame when a good band decides to call it a day, but the demise of indie stars Catatonia last year was particularly poignant. In the very week that their last, underrated album Paper Scissors Stone was released, singer Cerys Matthews confirmed the long-standing rumours and checked into an alcoholic rehab clinic, sadly unable to cope with the pressures of fame. So, with any potential reunion clearly being some way off, this 15-track singles collection arrives as the perfect reminder of the band's all-too-brief time in the spotlight. Catatonia weren't a great band, exactly their sound was too generically indie for that. But they had two major assets: their ear for a winning melody and Matthews's genuine star quality, her rolling Welsh vowels capable of lifting any song a notch or two higher on the emotional scale. Wavering buyers should note, by the way, that the first 10,000 copies sold contain a bonus disc of ten B-sides and album tracks, many of which would have made fine singles in their own right.
