Aussie Punk Rock outfit Crash & the Crapenters (Yes I did read it as Carpenters for the first two or three times!) have been together since around 2015, but this self titled sophomore album released through ‘Big Radio Records’ is with the latest line up of Chris Carpenter – Vocals/Guitar, Darb Lewis – Guitar/ Vocals, Jamie Burgess – Guitar, Richard Sullivan – Bass/Vocals, Freidon Bahram – Drums/Vocals.
After releasing their first full length ‘Set In Stone’ back in 2017, they have undergone a line up change, and a much fuller sound does seem to bleed from the thick of this offering, although if you go back to the first album, songs like ‘2016’ & ‘Ghosts’ do set the tone for what lay ahead for the band.
Crashing straight into this album, you cannot help but be struck by the much heavier punk/rock sound, ‘As Good As Gone’ seizes you by the AC/DC balls but slaps you around with punk rock virtue and then ‘There’s Many A Slip’ holds this thought and rumbles around like a good old classic rock slice of a beast, and yet the punk is so prevalent in the lyric you are left in no doubt that you’re getting a true balance of power here.
As you sit back for the ride of your musical life, it’s with glee that you realise that this album is never gonna sit still and be a one trick pony, ’Rise up’ with its Queens Of The Stone Age guitar riffs played with all the might of said band, is a stand out among many stand outs, then without waiting to draw breathe your flung right into the mouth of a Dwarves esk piece of brilliance of ‘Purge’ with spoken word and intricate guitar frivolities, which is then followed by ‘World Without Guns’ classic melodic punk that says it exactly how it should be said!
It’s not until track seven that the Ska side of the band comes up and in a really good way, ‘She’s Subatomic’ no messing around with this, as it should be danceable, rockin beats that always give a smile.
As it’s becoming abundantly clear, Crash & The Crapenters take influence from right across the board, they pack in every genre and sub genre of punk, Ska, Rock and pure Rock n Roll! Trying to pick a stand out track or two is pretty a futile process, finding yourself placing for example ‘Surf Slop’ as the best track on the album for it’s raw realities of life and how it catches up with you, the realisation that there are some holes you need to climb out of before its too late. But then ‘Walls’ that has a ridiculously insane bass line start, and rolls over you like a herd of stampeding cattle, but has a mental health story to tell. The list is endless, well 14 tracks long anyway.
Do we recommend you go and buy this album?
This album embodies everything that a Punk Rock album could and should sound like! So YES!!!!! Is the answer.
For all things Crash & The Crapenters, check out their FACEBOOK
1 comment