Crows have shared the final single ‘Is It Better? , from new album Reason Enough, out at the end of this month via Bad Vibrations Records. ‘It Is Better?’ encapsulate the difficult year singer James Cox has whilst writing the album. He explains further, “It’s a homage to the friends and my family who helped guide me get through it. It’s also a reflection on having gone through something and not coming out unscathed – dealing with the damage I picked up along the way, and accepting my new reality.‘
Working once again with Manoela Chiabai (Tove Lo, SG Lewis, FLO, Depeche Mode, IDLES, Future Islands) for the video, he says “When I heard ‘Is it better?’, I thought there was something so incredibly absurd about the lyrics and the title that poses an impossible question. I started to think about a man that feels dead inside and just wants to escape life, but not even at his own funeral he can find peace, and as such he finds himself in some sort of a loop.
This attempt to divorce ourselves from the world is actually what represents the inescapable human condition. As the song is very catchy and upbeat, leaning into the absurd with ridiculous humour and playfulness was fun and interesting to explore – having Crows as cameos getting into the most stupid fight ever over a double dipper was so gratifying! It was by far one the funniest experiences I’ve ever had on set.”
Watch here:
While political threads have long run through Crows’ music, Reason Enough feels like an eruption, a logical conclusion to the band’s take on the state of the UK – lyrically, Cox drew heavily from a difficult year, both personally and in terms of facing up to a heavygoing news cycle, and a general sense of malaise, isolation, unease and a desire for growth in spite of it all permeate Reason Enough – an album which strikes a satisfying balance between existentialism, soul-searching, and a discerning brand of indie-rock.
Having been together for almost a decade they’ve seen support from across the music press, BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 1 and have supported Wolf Alice in the states. James Cox has also recently fronted band Humanist which have supported Depeche Mode on their arena tours as well as Jane’s Addiction, and co-owns a tattoo studio in Hackney Wick with Elliot Lane who designs all the artwork.
Crows’ 2019 debut Silver Tongues put them firmly on the map as a punk band with an indomitable spirit and a penchant for abrasion, which they performed across the UK in support of IDLES on their sold-out tour. 2022’s follow-up Beware Believers, built on this mood and then some, as Crows fleshed out their high octane sound and laced it with sharp, political lyricism.
On Reason Enough out in just under a month, the band’s punk spirit remains intact. Sonically, though, they’re more refined and cohesive than ever; it’s the most mature Crows have ever sounded – it’s more melodic work than what the 4-piece have previously done. The band worked with Mercury Prize-winning producer Andy Savours, who’s previously collaborated with the likes of Black Country, New Road and My Bloody Valentine
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Working on the record, James Cox (vocals), Steve Goddard (guitar), Jith Amarasinghe (bass) and Sam Lister (drums), swapped their usual rehearsal space, a small studio in Homerton, East London, for the cavernous walls of a “weird little studio” – as Goddard puts it – in Stroud, Gloucestershire. More specifically, a former Catholic church and convent. The band parked themselves up in the church’s crypt, which was more conducive to inspiring the foundations for Reason Enough. Armed with dozens of ideas, they returned to London in a bid to finesse them all.
Crows will tour the UK/EU this October into November, with tickets on sale now.
Reason Enough is out on 27th September 2024 via Bad Vibrations
Pre-order HERE
Photo Credit: Sandra Eber
