CROWS TAKE FLIGHT AT DEAF INSTITUTE

LIVE REVIEW | CROWS w/ Hank | MANCHESTER DEAF INSTITUTE 10/10/2024 by Tom Whittleton

After the recent release of their third album “Reason Enough” Crows have embarked on a tour of the United Kingdom and Europe. Rating the album a top 5/5, I knew I needed to see them live again after not seeing them since a faded part of my Hull teenage post punk memory.

I wanted to see how such a tight, yet explosive album could translate to the stage and Crows brought all of that and more. Gift wrapped in a neat little black bow with patch work tattoos. Support came from Hank which set the scene nicely with some head spinning shoegaze and dream pop inspired indie which got feet tapping and shoulders swaying.

Melodic co-vocals and the addition of a few interludes of radio feedback kept the set fresh and away from what can often be an oversaturated genre. Hank takes a foundation of clear influences from Cocteau Twins and Slowdive, adding a South London post punk flare to a very promising sound. With the venue getting nicely packed in, the natural Church style interior acted as a backdrop for Crows set to come; reminiscent of the newest albums recording studios gothic catacomb. With an introduction blast of feedback and lowering of lights Crows walked out. The atmosphere immediately grew a few degrees colder.

Front man James Cox stands at an impressive height (possibly from the raised stage) with a quick nod and a classic “How are we Manchester?” The first bass growl of album title track “Reason Enough” shook the floorboards. Letting the audience know Crows had flown in.

A double microphone set up gave Cox a place to rest his jittering arms as his eyes flickered with the light of a bloke you really don’t want to mess with. The second 1950s style mic wouldn’t have been out of place in the hands of Elvis. But had layers of reverb and echo which gave his vocals an added intensity and filled the room with a repeated “Reason Enough”. The song keeps a slow grinding build up till just before you’re about to wait for the next song and all hell breaks out of the speaker cabinets. Steve Godard’s guitar takes centre stage and massive drum pounding from Sam Lister keeps it all rolling. The band expel all the built-up tension and lead the track out.

Without a second to tie your shoelaces, have a sip of a beer or even have a look at the décor, Crows start “Bored” which takes the album versions rage at the state of the nation and doubles it. Cox now grabbing at his T-shirt, himself and any object in-front of him lays into a list of everything that makes him “Bored”; Most of which we can all agree on “check the size of that queue cos I’m bored”. “Wednesdays Child” takes a galloping western approach with Listers drums sounding like band of horses out the stalls. Reverbed to the max guitar gives Cox a moment to breathe between verses of poisoned rage.

“So, blame me for all of your mistake’s cos I’m a conduit for the devil just let me in”, for a second you believe that he is; dark eyes darting around the room at the audience before he throws himself at his microphone stand white knuckle clenching and letting the band push the room to the max. My personal favourite track from the album “Land of the rose” came next and every aspect of the recorded version was taken higher with the energy of seeing the band in person and at their tightest.

Jith Amarasinghes bass was prominent in the mix leading us into the song, before Cox took another opportunity to grip his mic stand with enough force you felt like it was going to disintegrate. The political charge of the track is much more visceral in the flesh you see the struggle between love for your country and hate for the way it has been destroyed by the people who run it. Both mics in hand the final part of the song felt like a rallying cry and one last farewell to dear of Blighty: “Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye to the Land of the Rose” by Crows standards. “Vision of Me” was a well-deserved breather, not a catching of breath in a normal sense, more a few seconds of calm before taking a tumble off a cliff. The song is emotionally tearing and self-analysing you feel as if this band is an outlet for its members darkness.

“I need a break from this reality, and It seems like you do too”, something we’ve all felt at some point where the weight of the world warrants a complete escape. “Love is easy, peace is easy” is echoed through one mic and then Cox quickly switches to the other doubling his voice around the room letting the band crescendo all that is dark and beautiful within the music.

Back to the regularly scheduled programming for the evening “Slowly Separate” gives a dance punk backbeat the noise rock treatment, “again, again, again feel the disconnect again, again, again feeling different” pulls Cox out of his body and into complete shutdown with guitar feedback screeches sounding like Bo Diddley joined the Mary Chain.

“Living on my knees” was a set highlight for me. A spoken word verse with Cox reaching for his 50s mic singing with melody and rage. The band are building the song up slowly before letting a shotgun blast of guitar ring out across the room. The chorus is a chant-able repetitive drawl which you just wished the album was out for long enough that the audience knew it word for word. The song ends abruptly with a quick halt of the noise which by now was making my skull rattle (not a bad thing at all).

At this point I’d realised the band hadn’t said much on stage, by no means a negative. They briefly thanked us all for supporting them after their 2-year break and welcoming them back to Manchester. Crows didn’t need to spew nonsense stage banter; all they represent is completely laid to bare through the music.

A little later in what felt like the shortest 16 song set I’ve ever witnessed. “Garden of England” felt like the closest to “Rock n Roll” the band had gotten to: a swaggering no prisoners approach to snarling punk rock. Another attack on the state of the nation “I’ve got a taste in my mouth for what it felt like way back in the old days” a snarky yet intelligent take on the nostalgia of the county’s past. Baiting out the exact nationalism which plagues England, Cox screams the final lines “No more parades, no more disease in England”.

The night was drawing to a close and Crows had proven themselves to be an example of why there brand of politically charged self-reflective punk was needed now more than ever. Last song “Is It Better?”, was a swan song befitting of the new albums lead single. Finishing on a joyous rallying cry “is it better to love and live in fear of pain?”, giving the audience a moment of beauty.

The band had found their feet firmly in the ground of Manchester’s Deaf Institute giving us one last thrashing defiant moment before dropping guitars and heading to the exits.

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