I doubt that I listened to Catatonia's "International Velvet" during 2000 -- unquestionably a consequence of a) getting lost in the shuffle of a ever-ballooning CD collection and b) my general disdain and loss of enthusiasm for much UK rock in general. A short 18 months ago, I was of the opinion that "International Velvet" had the unimpeachable singles, while "Equally Cursed and Blessed" was the more accomplished, well-rounded album (sorry, long-time Catatonia fans, those are the only two albums I have, but it's tough to be pushing the vanguard of music all of the time, sometimes it feels good to jump really, really late onto the bandwagon and open my wallet in plain submission to the hype. Kind of like the way a 12-year old girl buys the O-Town album based on their looks and fame rather than the complete lack of musical talent that they "exhibited" on their TV show, I shelled out for Catatonia). Well, this week I spent some time revisiting these albums, and it's clear that IV has held up MUCH better over the scant couple of years since its release. ECB's lack of a killer single is glaringly evident. Stunningly haunting fragility aside (i.e. Valerion), it sounds lost in the slush of drab, grey, semi-acoustic pseudo-balladry that has been the norm in Brit-rock over the last few years. Heard in the context of said norm, IV is even more fun that it was in 1998. That sparkling array of -- get this -- *happy* pop gems takes me back to those wanton days of yore when a guitar band could sing of sunny days without the emotional baggage associated with waiting solemnly for the eventual rainstorm. Pre-tabloid hell and Cerys' breakdown, IV is the sound of band feeling no pressure because they have nothing to lose and only superstardom to gain. Perhaps that is the true lesson learned from Britpop: each band gets only one such burden-free album ("Parklife", "Different Class") before the beast that is the embracing and subsequent shunning of the public eye renders such pop genius unattainable ever again ("The Great Escape" ... "13", "This is Hardcore"). Thus, "International Velvet" = "The last great Britpop album". As Pulp and Blur have shown, what follows is significantly more restrained, yet need not be any less beautiful.