The Crookes may not be a name that you recognise, in fact you may well be sat there looking blankly at this post as I witter on about the newest up and coming indie meets pop meets 1960’s rock and roll band of the 21stcentury. But I can almost guarantee that once you’ve popped ‘The Crookes’ into your search bar on YouTube and sampled the mesmerising tones of this four piece band from Sheffield (song recommendations include: Backstreet Lovers, Yes, Yes We’re Magicians and Bloodshot Days, I could go on..) you will be instantly converted to the sound of The Crookes.
This week marks the release of the bands second studio album Hold Fast and as a huge fan of the boys previous records Dreams of Another Day (EP) and Chasing after Ghosts, (if you haven’t got them, download them) I was curious to see how it would fair. Having already been tipped for future success by NME, the talented Sheffield university graduates are a favourite of BBC Radio 6 musical legend Steve Lamacq, offering the boys the kind of exposure and publicity they deserve. HoldFast offers a much more ambitious sound than their previous work with many of the tracks tailored to suite a live environment, perfectly timed to coincide with a summer of festival dates. If live renditions of American Girls and The Cooler King don’t bring in new fans then nothing will.
The album opens with the up tempo hit After Glow, the first single to be released from Hold Fast and one which is infused with the typical catchy chorus and indie boy charms. As the album progresses the band demonstrate their diversity with a mix of fast beat tracks such as Stars and Maybe in the Darkas well as offering old school romantic rock and roll in the form of The I Love You Bridge and Sal Paradise, songs which are reminiscent of a modern day Buddy Holly and The Smiths.
Who can forget the catchy chorus of my favourite track Sofie which promises to stay in your head for the foreseeable future. There’s nothing better than having the sickeningly cringe worthy lyrics “I’ve never been the one for a cliché but I want to dance with you in the rain” stuck on repeat all day. Nice work lads.
The greatest thing about this album is that it shows The Crookes development as a band. Having not changed their style and sound but instead writing smarter more successful songs, George, Daniel, Russell and Tom are certainly on the right path to success. If there is one band that deserves to hit the big time it’s The Crookes.
