The Crookes - Album Review
Posted by Guest Writer on Tue, 15 Feb 2011.
Russell Bates
Daniel Hopewell
Alex Saunders
George Waite
Every song is concerned with the tension between a bleak reality and escapism through imagination’, Chasing After Ghosts brings The Crookes their debut album following the success of their Dreams of Another Day EP. With performances at Reading and Leeds accomplished and a huge tour ahead of them, both in the UK and Europe, Chasing After Ghosts brings a full-length progression for the Sheffield boys.
Opening with the next single, ‘Godless Girl’, Chasing After Ghosts is filled with evocative, charming songs telling of wistful days gone by and the anxiety of those that approach. ‘Godless Girl’ is possibly one of the strongest of the record, inspired by a picture in a 1970s American newspaper, and as soon as the album kicks off it’s clear that this is a sensitive album from a thoughtful band – not just your average indie pop. ‘How she now sits oddly with the times’, the chorus line of the single, is a line of beautiful irony as Chasing After Ghosts is so captivatingly nostalgic.
The band have described the album as ‘a testament of youth’, which is definitely felt across the 11 tracks. ‘Carnabetian Charm’ being a particular favourite, partly because I had to Google ‘carnabetian’ (comes from Carnaby Street in London), partly because George Waite’s emotion through the vocals on ‘he p****d all his earnings on decadent yearnings’ makes it impossible not to enjoy.
‘The Crookes Laundry Murder, 1922’: I’ll be honest, I was originally put off simply by the length of the title, and partly because it contained the band name, but then of course I listened to the track and naturally it was a lot better than I thought. The Crookes have this knack of being able to make a song interesting, regardless of the slightly obscure subject matter (the song’s based on real-life Sheffield criminals). Slightly ironic considering the shortest titled track on the album, ‘Youth’, drags a bit. By no means a bad track…but I tend to skip that one.
The band have said before that they like to ‘provide refuge’ in their fanzine, Bright Young Things, which is something that Chasing After Ghosts effortlessly achieves also. It’s not a revolutionary record, it’s not groundbreaking, but the 42 and a half minutes this album comprises of are, at the risk of sounding like…a music journalist, 42 and a half minutes of escapism. Chasing After Ghosts is good, old-fashioned, lustful, heart-breaking indie pop. And it’s wonderful.
By Rosie Macleod