Review: Katastro Grooves with Latest Album

Katastro dropped their latest album, Sucker, on July 16th. This is the band’s sixth full-length album which was produced by Matt Kellar. Previous releases by the band include Gentle Predator (2012), No Mud No Lotus (2014), Strange Nights (2016), Washed (2018), and Tropical Heartbreak (2019).

The Tempe, Arizona alt-rock/hip-hop quartet was formed in 2007 and is comprised of Andy Chaves (vocals), Andrew Stravers (drums), Tanner Riccio (guitar), and Ryan Weddle (bass). The band has toured with bands like Dirty Heads, Sublime With Rome, Iration, 311, Pepper, The Expendables and performed at festivals including One Love Cali Reggae Fest and Reggae Rise Up Festival.

Sucker is a moderate tempo album. The band uses a hybrid of different musical genres which introduce a change of pace within the songs. Chaves starts off “The Way I Feel”, “100 Rips”, “Dropout” and “Sucker” with hip-hop verses and then transitions into pop style choruses. “One Day” and “John T.” are reggae songs from start to finish. Riccio’s guitar playing goes from off-beat reggae strums on some songs to bluesy riffs on others.

Sucker has produced five singles: “The Way I Fell”,” One Day”, “Droptop”, “100 Rips”, and “Way Too High” which have amassed over 500,000 streams. Early musical influences on the band include Eminem and the Red Hot Chili Peppers which can definitely be felt on the album. Katastro blends multiple genres including rock, hip-hop, funk, blues, pop and reggae on the album which helps to keep it interesting. With over 80 million career streams and 4.5 million YouTube views they have found a formula to satisfy their fan base.

If you want to check out the band live, they will be hitting the road for a short tour commencing on July 31, 2021 in Denver, CO. Tour dates are listed below.

Sucker Track List

The Way I Feel
100 Rips

Droptop
Pocket Fulla
One Day

Sucker
Hotel Lobby
Naked

Too $hort
Way Too High
John T.

Last Call

Tour Dates
Jul 30, 2021 – Denver, CO
Jul 31, 2021 – Pueblo, CO
Aug 1, 2021 – Pueblo, CO
Aug 6, 2021 – Sandy, UT
Aug 12, 2021 – San Diego, CA
Aug 13, 2021 – Los Angeles, CA
Aug 14, 2021 – Sacramento, CA
Aug 26, 2021 – Flagstaff, AZ
Aug 28, 2021 – Tucson, AZ
Oct 21, 2021 – St Petersburg, FL
Oct 24, 2021 – St Petersburg, FL

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