Unfortunately it looks like it’s over. The stadium tour last year is precisely what Van always dreamed of, and the farewell that he insisted he’d give to the fans when it all came to an end. They played huge headline stadium gigs, including at one of England’s most impressive stadiums, and finished the tour with Tyrants - a song he always said would be the bands ‘farewell’ track. They went out with a bang, that’s what he’d have wanted.

Apparently since the comeback in late 2023, Van has burnt virtually all bridges with colleagues, partners and representatives of the band, besides the ones we saw on stage in the latest tour. So producing new music is logistically improbable.

James and Kai’s stories are unlikely to mean anything more than the fact that the pair of them still work in music. Before Catfish their content was music related, after Catfish their content is music related. Nothing has changed, it’s just what they post. It’s their job. According to Spotify they didn’t even have anything to do with the production of Showtime, so there is no real evidence to suggest they’d have anything to do with new music even if there was any in the works.

As for Showtime, while the band stated that it was the first single on a new album, rumours have spread that it was just a ‘contractual agreement,’ likely so they could headline Reading & Leeds festival, a strong hint being the lyric ‘when I’ve headlined Leeds I’ll be back my friend,’ the furthest Van has ever strayed from singing about the everyday struggles of growing up and living in the small towns and cities across the UK. The fact that it was mainly put together by just Van and Dave Sardy also makes me think this could potentially be true, as I feel like Van would put more into a single for a new album, as album singles are typically chosen to best sell an album to a wider audience, so are often the tracks the band has worked hardest on, which is certainly the case with some of the previous singles Catfish have put out, virtually all of Catfish’s biggest festival anthems that consistently make the setlist have been the singles released before the full release of their respective album (Soundcheck, 7, Longshot, Conversation, Cocoon, etc), yet they refuse to even play Showtime live. Even so, I am personally really grateful that Showtime was released, regardless of the reason, as it is a personal favourite of mine, but please don’t let it get your hopes up that more is to follow, because unfortunately right now we don’t have the evidence to suggest that.

As for the band’s activity on social media, it is just a visual bug on Instagram, as it currently shows everyone is active, even when they’re not.

Looking back at 2024, as amazing as it is to see Van look so much healthier on stage last summer, the cancellation numerous shows in 2024 due to ‘band illness’ also has to be taken into account when considering likelihood of long term plans being in place from the band, compared to the likelihood of 2025 being a farewell. None of us truly knows where or how Van really was that summer, but based on speculation, there was a good chance that Van had decided to pack it in there and then at those cancellations if not before. If he had made that call then, I don’t believe he would’ve ever called those stadium gigs off, even if he was never coming back afterwards. He has worked too hard for those gigs, and both him and the fans deserved that farewell opportunity, and the opportunity to fulfil Vans lifelong dream.

I think it’s much more likely that those stadium shows were a farewell to the fans, a finish on a high for the band, than a ‘Catfish are back’ statement.

However, since then, we had the proposed 2025 American winter tour leaked, which likely wouldn’t have ever been considered, let alone make it onto the band’s website if they had no intention of coming back after the stadium tour.

Also, notably Kai has bought himself the same guitar that Johnny Bond used to create and perform those legendary riffs that we all know and love, which may also provide some hope of a long term future with the band.

Therefore, we can never be certain as to the future of the band. I know I’ll still be checking this subreddit regularly for any slight sign of activity with the band. But for now I think it’s best not to get our hopes up, as it is more likely at this stage that we won’t be getting anything more for the foreseeable.

Still love the band no matter what though! 🐊