There’s a lot to be said for getting right to the point. When you’re in a pop band of any description, you don’t really have any choice – use whatever tricks you have to hook the listener within 30 seconds (if even that), or you’ve lost them. Here’s a band who are really rather good at that, and thus clearly have a bright future ahead of them. Crash & the ‘Coots [Twitter/Facebook] (‘I see what they did there‘ etc., etc. – I pity those of you who actually had to click that link.) have been hailed as ‘the best band currently writing and recording in Wiltshire’, but their debut EP, John Coles Park, makes it clear that they have far greater ambitions than that. They want to be known nationwide, and this EP – 3 songs, clocking in at less than 9 minutes – gets them off to a flying start.
From the moment that Emily (Hehe) sparks into life, the band’s ‘DIY pop’ approach is clear as a bell; even though this is a bedroom production (with programmed drums and synth squiggles aplenty), its soundscape is a good deal wider than that would suggest. Its infectious bass hook, which every now and then is punctuated by gleeful handclaps and various other (sometimes literal) bells and whistles, makes an immediate impression, as does their impressive songcraft. Far from adhering to the ‘don’t bore us, get to the chorus!’ approach taken by bands of this ilk, the song takes numerous twists before delivering on its promise of a catchy refrain: ‘I love your mind and hate your face’.
A sense of playfulness abounds, and these three songs are also infused with enough charm to power a small town. The stop-start dynamics of Don’t Have Any Legs suit the song perfectly, and the funkier approach that the band take is an indication that they already have their fingers in several different pies. While an EP full of similar-sounding songs wouldn’t have been a bad thing at all – as the band surely would have the ability to pull it off just as well – it’s encouraging to find them experimenting at this early stage in their career. The hard-hitting drums and danceable bass riff that open Brian Fury Wins!, meanwhile, allow the band to dip their toes into almost post-punk territory. One would expect that to clash horribly with the ‘ooh-la-la’ chorus, but instead it works brilliantly. Crash & the ‘Coots aren’t your typical pop band, by any stretch of the imagination, and one would hope that there’s plenty more where this came from. I’m betting that there is.
