Unveiling their more tender side, The Catalina charm with heartfelt new single Miss U Like.

Minneapolis trio The Catalina are going to capture your heart with their yearning new single Miss U Like. Stepping away from the vibrant upbeat energy that we’ve witnessed in their previous tracks, the pace is slowed down in Miss U Like as the band adopts a more acoustic approach and lay bare their feelings. With a woozy melody and ardent vocals that gently wrap around you, the dreaminess of Miss U Like acts as the perfect vehicle for the band’s message of love, and you’ll come away with a newfound appreciation for the small things around you.

Explaining more about their inspirations behind the track, the band shares:

This song is about all of the little things that you miss about the one that you love, from the taste they leave on your lips to the smell that lingers after they leave the room. In the end, they can be the things that cause you to miss someone before they even leave the room, knowing what they’re going to leave behind. We wrote this song to encourage people not to take for granted all the small idiosyncrasies that made them fall for someone, and hopefully it takes them back in time to the moment that it all began. We’re a band that believes in love, especially when it comes to the ones that are closest to you.

With this seed of gratitude planted in our minds, we caught up with the band to chat a bit further about the things they love and what they’ve learnt from their experiences.

What’s a motto you live by?

One of our band mottos was actually the title of our first EP, which was called Love Somebody. We were really intentional about it being the first song that we released because we wanted to get our point across. As a band, we’re passionate about making sure that people feel loved because it’s something that everyone deserves. We want to do our part in being accepting of people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds because it’s the only thing that’s going to fix the broken aspects of our society.

If your sound had a colour, what colour would it be?

Tie-dye – Early on in our band’s writing process, one of the characteristics that we decided to hone in on was the concept of musical color. We’re always pushing ourselves to make sure that there’s a complexity to our sound, never settling for the simplest option. Using colorful chord structures and layering sounds is one of the ways that we try to push the emotion of our music and leave the listener feeling something unique.

If you could set Miss U Like to a TV show or movie, what would it be the soundtrack for?

‘To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ – I think mainly out of the simplicity. It’s a very young-love song with little to worry about, and focuses on the aspects of love that are somewhat young in nature. We wanted to write a song that captured all of the little elements that infatuate you with a person, and that movie has the right kind of vibe for something that isn’t overly complicated.

Miss U Like has a very sweet message of taking note of the small things done by the ones you love; what are some of the small habits that you find endearing about each other in the band? 

From my perspective as the lead singer (James Howard), I know there’s a couple of things about Adam (drums) and Justin (lead guitar) that always stick with me. Adam always brings the party and lightens the mood of a room. He’s got a great sense of humor and never takes himself too seriously, making it easy to let your walls down. Justin always makes me laugh and is probably the most supportive person I’ve ever met. He’s never shy to let you know when you do something he finds inspiring, and is a walking encyclopedia of ‘The Office’ quotes.

Do you have any collective quirks as a band, such as pre-show rituals or specific routines?

As far as pre-show warm ups go, I’m sure we’ll find a few over the course of the next few years. Due to the nature of COVID and the way venues have been closed, we’re actually hoping to play our first full-production debut show towards the end of 2021 in our hometown of Minneapolis. We just try to keep things fun and interesting in the studio – so it’s always a day full of laughing, and then bringing it back to make sure we’re driving home quality music.

Miss U Like deviates from some of your previous releases by incorporating an acoustic guitar, did you find this changed any part of your writing or recording process?

Yes and no – this song was actually written with the sole purpose of trying to being a new organic element into our music. With that in mind, we actually started there and then layered our typical production process on top of it, because we wanted to make sure that it was up-front enough that it could really shine. Lately, I’ve been a sucker for some of the bands that inspire us because it feels like chorus-laden acoustic guitar is making a comeback, and I love the late 1990’s and early 2000’s vibe that it brings out. Obviously we’re pretty happy with how it turned out, and I think it brings a new beauty to our catalogue.

You mentioned that your band believes in love; what helped you to form this belief?

I think a lot of it has to do with our upbringing and just plain observation. It’s one of those things that’s easy to forget when it’s there, but is easy to notice when there isn’t enough to go around. We just feel that it’s the answer to a lot of the problems that we currently have in the United States, and hope that we can be a catalyst to inspire others to treat each other positively.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt about love?

That it’s real, and those that haven’t experienced it have either been cheated, unfortunate, have been chosen not to be loved, or had it taken from them. We want to be a band that gives it back to them. Our Instagram DM’s are always open, and we’re always looking for opportunities to engage with fans to make them feel valuable.

And finally, slightly cliché, but what does music mean to you?

A lot – if not everything. Music is so unique in the way that it can transcend so many barriers. It’s a language that everyone speaks, and some are gifted to create. We’ve all known for a long time that music is one of the things that makes us feel alive, and we’re so fortunate to have the people and support behind us to be able to begin to build a career on it.