Those Damn Crows
God Shaped Hole
Earache Records
Stadium band setlist of an album ‘God Shaped Hole’ is everything Crows, a little of the unexpected and absolute perfection. It’s loaded with lyrical meaning and music which further enhances the imagery and then penetrates into your skull even further with its versatility, volume and viscerality. This is a record to delight the Crow Fam and draw in flocks of new fans. Waiting for tense opener ‘Dancing With The Enemy’ to fully bloom feels like begging for a much needed storm to break, and when it does the riffs and drums drop like bombs. Showing the band’s evolution, ‘God Shaped Hole’ has electro/symphonic/apocalyptic elements, still accompanied by consistent Crows’ class – the choruses, the connection, the confidence. Shane Greenhall’s phenomenal voice is full of warmth on punchy pop ‘Dreaming’ and lullaby-esque ‘The Night Train’, while darker, snarlier ‘Fake’ and raging rock inferno ‘Let’s Go Psycho!’ sound like he’s had it on a knife-sharpener. Explosive ‘Spit & Choke’ is pure power punk rock adrenaline. Closing on the almost unbearably intimate and emotional ‘Still’, ‘God Shaped Hole’ blends hefty with heavenly. Beauty with brutal. Now go fly boys, because this is your time.
Review by Jo Wright