Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea - I Watched It From The Roadside
Rating
RIYL
FugaziAt The Drive-In
…Trail of Dead
Cap’n Jazz
Release Date
08/16/2010
Label
Smalltown AmericaTracklist
1. Slow News Day2. They Don't Mean Anything
3. Out In the Dark
4. Like Mice In the Cellar
5. That Drum's Discordant Sound
6. Time and Place
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The post-punk / post-hardcore scene in the UK has been flourishing over the past few years. Labels like Big Scary Monsters and Smalltown America have become institutions on the angular disjointed sound, and the crop of fresh young bands just seems to get better and better. Not since the glory days of Dischord Records has there been so much intricately aggressive post-punk music unfurled from one “scene,” but the revival is alive and breathing in Britain. Which brings us to Brighton’s Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea, a bright and promising band that has shown incredible growth in a very short amount of time. Since releasing It’s The Falling That Counts, Not The Landing, (a five track EP that clocked in at just under thirteen minutes) in February, the band have continued to plug away at the thriving scene, touring with Hold Your Horse Is, ex-Meet Me In St. Louis’ main man Tobias Hayes’ solo project Shoes And Socks Off, LaFaro, and The Amateurs. With each passing day, Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea have seemingly gotten tighter, a touch more refined, their songs more realized, and sure enough, they were signed to Smalltown America. Wasting no time, their debut for the label, I Watched It From the Roadside, has arrived and is certain to blow minds on both sides of the pond. Raw, abrasive, and endearingly agitated, CMCS have arrived to fill the void left by At The Drive-In and Fugazi, firmly implanting themselves somewhere in between their legendary influences. The six tracks just eclipse the eighteen minute mark, but the chaotic explosiveness is inescapable, creating an inevitable desire to repeat the album from the beginning a few more times.
Deep pounding drums and a subsonic bass line coupled with the trickling guitars of “Slow News Day” open the set with a tremendous rising tension. From the moment the dual vocal delivery appears, it’s apparent that Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea has matured as a band in the short time since their last release. The hook’s intensely melodic gang vocals contrast the bleak verses as the band whirl up toward furiousness but remain fairly reserved. “They Don’t Mean Anything” sprawls further into the spastic side of their repertoire, showcasing urgent stop/start shouts reminiscent of At The Drive-In’s earliest material. The dense rumble of the rhythm section blasts with clever polyrhythmic force and brutally expansive shattering guitars. “Out In The Dark” moves in every plausible direction possible without losing your attention or their grasp. Shimmering with jazzy cymbal work, the song warps via a slew of experimental time changes, as each complex passage extends further from the previous. The song conjures up the epic and artistic side of …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, as sweeping crescendos pull and release forging an unexpected musical fireworks display.
Nimble guitar work and furious yelps are at the forefront of the brilliantly heavy “Like Mice in the Cellar”. The guitars ring with detached beauty that can be attributed to their creative tunings. The sharp and punchy attack is sure to leave a mark, with strong melodic hooks that are essentially pop music in its absolute dirtiest form. Brutal guitars battle over the rhythm in a climactic clawing to the finish. “That Drum’s Discordant Sound,” arguably my favorite track on the record, pulls the tension back to the forefront, thanks to an exceptional performance from both the drums and the dual vocals. The off kilter chord progressions recall mid era Fugazi, only with larger melodies that are endlessly infectious. Passionate and sincere, the hook churns with fuzzy guitars as they scream “we’re going out of fashion… fast” over a dense backdrop. Luckily for us, it doesn’t appear Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea are too concerned with what’s fashionable. “Time and Place” is soaked in noisy guitar lines, invoking an apocalyptic atmosphere of atonal mayhem that’s raw and abrasive, yet easily digestible and enjoyed. The band may not be reinventing the wheel with I Watched It From the Roadside, but they have delivered an EP further igniting the post-punk flames back into the daring and aggressive state it belongs. There is an underground movement forming from deep within the United Kingdom, and Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea are standing on the front lines.
--Dan Goldin
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