8/10

The Horn's 'Catalyst' is the sound of a band widening the frame. A clear step beyond 2023 debut LP 'People Like Us', the London five-piece's new album leans into bigger arrangements, more cinematic textures and a stronger sense of atmosphere without losing the melodic directness that helped establish them in the first place.

Recorded at RAK Studios and Abbey Road’s Studio Two, with producer and mixer Danton Supple, 'Catalyst' carries a sense of scale that suits the band’s increasingly ambitious writing. Strings enter the picture without overwhelming the songs, while the production gives the record a polished, widescreen character that often feels closer to film than straightforward indie-rock.

Highlight 'Beautiful Lie' captures that especially well. Sumptuous and dramatic, it sits somewhere between the orchestral sweep of The Last Shadow Puppets and the more emotionally open side of vintage Coldplay. It's the kind of track that makes the album's title feel apt, offering a trigger for a noticeably more expansive phase of the band's sound.

Opener 'Back On The Path' pushes towards redemptive, widescreen indie-rock, while 'Something You Forgot' carries a looser swagger. 'What's The Score' brings a different kind of energy again, capturing the euphoria before the inevitable comedown. Together, those shifts give the ten-track record a stronger sense of movement as it plays.

The Horn describe music as a form of escapism from modern anxiety and negativity, and 'Catalyst' reflects that without pretending the outside world disappears entirely. The band remain observant throughout, holding up a mirror to contemporary life while still creating space for release, pleasure and connection.

The result is an album that feels confident, atmospheric and deliberately ambitious. If 'People Like Us' introduced The Horn, 'Catalyst' feels like the moment they start thinking in widescreen.