The Horrible Crowes
Elsie

Hearing the name of the group, you might expect some kind of Norwegian Heavy Metal. The Horrible Crows… Indeed, the choice could have been better. However, the duo composed of Brian Fallon, singer of the Gaslight Anthem, and Ian Perkins, the band's sound technician and here bassist, has an astonishing debut album.

The comparison with the Gaslight Anthem is inevitable. After all, it is the unmistakable voice of Fallon that holds all the songs together. You could say that the music is more subdued, the source comes more from blues than from rock, the lyrics are more cryptic – which is not saying much, considering that the other band’s lyrics aren’t exactly like those of Captain Beefheart – and the singing is much more murmured. As Fallon himself said, while the Gaslight is more inspired by Springsteen, the Crowes draw from Tom Waits.

And the influence is felt: the album is of exceptional level. Of course, it will take a lot to reach the levels of the ogre from Pomona, but the guys are on the right track. Not influenced by the duty to maintain contact with the audience, Fallon can experiment more both vocally – although he doesn’t have a very wide vocal range, he greatly varies the tone of his voice – and musically, seeking new sounds, always steering towards a dark and thick sound. The themes are no longer those of liberation and love but of betrayal and abandonment. The album opens with a light Last rites, under two minutes, then moves to the pained Sugar. But the best songs are found at the heart of the album: Go tell everybody, which starts murmured and then explodes, with the singer repeating the same words obsessively, and the chant Cherry blossoms. Stronger pieces are not missing either, like the pounding Mary Ann or the plucked Black Betty & the moon. The album closes with the acoustic I believe Jesus brought us together, which recalls, in terms of atmosphere invoked, About today by the National.

But Elsie, who is Elsie? Nowhere does she appear on the album. Could she perhaps be Martha’s daughter? We will see.