- Crows have arrived. Reason Enough, their third album, is the one the band have taken thelongest to write–partly because they had to fit the exercise around working full-time jobs, but also because of the freedom that was afforded to them around this specific project,which takes the post-punk four piece’s historically adrenaline-fuelled sound into freshterritory. For the occasion, James Cox (vocals), Steve Goddard (guitar), Jith Amarasinghe (bass) andSam Lister (drums), swapped their usual rehearsal space, a small studio in Homerton, EastLondon, for the cavernous walls of a “weird little studio”–as Goddard puts it–in Stroud, Gloucestershire. More specifically, a former Catholic church and convent. The band parkedthemselves up in the church’s crypt, which was more conducive to inspiring the foundationsforReason Enough. Armed with dozens of ideas, they returned to London in a bid to finesset hem all.“Having a more relaxed approach this time around meant we could explore different stuff,”Goddard says. “We don’t want to sound the same as we did before–this is our third album,we have to move on. And so we fucked around a bit more.”The result: a concise, 10-track album which goes a long way to show Crows’ sonicversatility. Their 2019 debut,Silver Tongues, put them firmlyon the map as a punk band with an indomitable spirit and a penchant for abrasion, which they performed across the UKin support of IDLES on their sold-out tour. 2022’s follow-up,Beware Believers, built on thismood and then some, as Crows fleshed out their high octane sound and laced it with sharp,political lyricism.OnReason Enough, the band’s punk spirit remains intact. Sonically, though, they’re morerefined and cohesive than ever; it’s the most mature Crows have ever sounded. The album’stitle track sees Cox wrestle with making a decision while marred by shame and restlessness.Crescendoing from taut guitar riffs into stretched out reverb and synths,Reason Enoughclimaxes into an explosion of drums–setting an appropriately dramatic scene for everythingwhat’s to come.
Venue
The Deaf Institute
135 Grosvenor St
Manchester M1 7HE
UK
Manchester M1 7HE
UK