NEWS
EVENTS
New Island Sounds
Indie | Monday 11th November 2013 | Katrine
As the year draws to a close we at Guestlist know it’s our duty to point your ears in the right direction for 2014. Enter Crash Island, unsigned Indie four-piece from Hackney. After having their EP, Strange Shores, mixed by the Strokes’ own Gordon Raphael, the band paid a visit to drummer Yusuf’s hometown of South Africa for the expert mastering skills of Rogan Kelsey. Strange Shores was released on 23rd September, with tracks such as ‘Loved Ones’ arcing over the newest of the genre; a promising start for a band so recently unrecognised by Indie circles.
The boys’ self coined ‘dark tropical’ style can be said to have come together from their respective love of punk rock, 80s synth pop and the most melodic of rock. They have stated their main influences as Joe Strummer of the Clash, Bloc Party and I’m certain, on listening to the pulsating bass lines and high pitched guitar parts of ‘Across the Skyline’, The Strokes themselves. It’s easy to imagine the band’s heroes would be proud of the amalgamation of sounds they have created as their opening show.
My personal favourite, ‘Let it Rain’, makes use of the ska-indie fusion in a beautifully melodious and relaxed ballad that lifts the listener into a happier place, akin to the light hearted nature of the Smiths’, with nearly as heart wrenching lyrics. Like the band state of themselves, their sound is ‘moody’ but simultaneously generates a great urge to dance and forget the worries of the morning.
One uniquely original and enticing aspect to Crash Island’s entrance on the scene is their remarkable taste for music videos. Have a look at the nightmarish stop motion used for the song ‘Haunting Me’, edited from the 1934 animation ‘The Mascot’, or ‘Devil’s Ball’, by Russian born Ladislas Starevich.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJn67scq9NI
It’s safe to say the group has covered their bases in this modern age of audio-visual entertainment. Alongside this, they’ve used similar distressed black and white footage for the remainder of songs on their EP, really outlining their individuality in an industry full of cliché.
Here’s hoping the gently melancholic harmonies and free falling guitar riffs will brighten your days in January 2014. Check them out at the Play Poland Film Festival, Café 1001, 13th November.
Katrine Aziz
@KatrineAziz
