CROWS - Is It Better?

 

1. Who are CROWS? 

CROWS are a post-punk band from North London, England. They have been making music since 2013. Their debut single Pray (2015) was a blistering belter; dark and menacing, faintly redolent of the Jesus and Mary Chain and The Stooges while exuding more violence than they ever possessed. It remains one of my favorite songs to this day.

CROWS have recorded two albums and Is It Better? (Sept, 2024) is the third single from their third album Reason Enough (Sept, 2024).

2. What kind of song is Is It Better? 

Is It Better? is a completely different beast to Pray. The sound is British indie pop/post-punk both the old (The Courteeners, Bloc Party, and Interpol - yes, I know) and the older (Suede, Pulp, and Blur). Is it Better? is a catchy song with a melancholic heart that sounds like middle England. It's nice. It throws a few feeble punches out of habit more than maliciousness and is the sound of a man getting older and less rough around the edges. The sound of a band evolving. The bass is catchy, bouncing along faster than an Eskimo's bum making love in the snow, while the guitar hints at internal anguish. Is It Better? isn't better than the ferocious bangers that CROWS have in their back catalogue but it isn't worse either.

3. Who do CROWS sound like? 

Interpol, Fontaines D.C., and The Horrors. 

4. Which bands have influenced CROWS?

Joy Division, Public Image Limited, and IDLES.  

5. What have the cut and paste bandits said about CROWS music?

"The most melodic, hook-filled and accessible sounding record of their career" - Louder Sound. 

"CROWS have always been a band who do things differently" - N.M.E. 

"Exemplary modern punk" - Far Out Magazine. 

"Well, I need a break from my overcrowded mind,

I've been leading myself down a dark and silent line,

Well there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, 

Nowhere to turn, nothing to find, underneath these stars"

 

England's 3 Hottest Punk Bands in 2015 In 3 Songs

1.    Asylums – Missing Persons.

Asylums are from Southend-on-Sea, London, and started kicking arse and taking names in December of 2014.  Necessary Appliances  (March’15) is the new song you can hear on Soundcloud and it rips everyone a new one. Little Indie Blogs call it, “Adrenaline charged exuberance,” and We Close Tonight reckoned Necessary Appliances has, “top quality riffs and emotive lyrics on hand to get you up and smashing windows.”
 

Asylums describe their music as, “the pop hooks of mid-90’s indie via the fuzzy guitars of late 80’s American underground rock.” Singer and guitarist Luke Branch says the bands that influenced him most as a nipper were David Bowie, Dinosaur Jr. and Supergrass. The best banger from Asylums is Missing Persons (Oct'15).

“Let’s go missing”

 

 

 

 

2. Crows – Pray.

 

Crows are from North London and have been taking care of business since May, 2013. Unwelcome Light (March'16) is the new EP and has a bevy of top notch songs. Silent Forest comes off that short player with force and fury, a wailing tune from an EP that DIY said, “Whacks, a petrol-soaked rag in the neck and sets everything ablaze.”  Silent Forest is on Soundcloud.


Crows have been described by Beat Magazine as similar to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and they have also been compared to Wolf Alice and Slaves. Crows debut single Pray (Feb’15) is their finest banger. Brace Yourself nailed Crows colors to the mast, Pray is “bloodthirsty and blunt like a fist wrapped in barbed wire.”

“His crooked mouth, his jagged teath,

And his bloodshot eyes,hypnotise”

 

 

 

 

3. Nai Harvest – Just Like You.

 

 

Nai Harvest are a punk duo from Sheffield who have been belting them out since 2011. Nai Harvest's most popular tune is the more introspective offering Ocean Of Madness (April'15). Ocean Of Madness sways off Nai Harvest's second album Hairball (2015) an album Edmdroid thought, “takes sharp turns into hazy garage punk and feedback-laden grunge.”

Nai Harvest have been compared to The Cribs, Wavves and Cloud Nothings. The band have mentioned love for bands like Blink-182, Good Charlotte and Sum 41. Just Like You (Feb'16) is Nai Harvest's finest banger, a double A side and a rollicking number with a big grinding riff that Upset Magazine called a “scuzzy pop gem.”

 

“Do you want all my love?”