This band crash and grab you
'Watch Committee' produces a structured punk sound that has the music brilliantly offset against the vocals. After hearing the opening lines you expect a Sex Pistols anarchic thrashing, but the temptation to deliver this is sidestepped by the band and in doing so creates a mixture that is credible enough to stand on its own.
'Thick As Thieves' is shot through with an almost rockabilly beat, and taken on the whole is the one out of these four tracks that will have you thinking of The Libertines, whilst 'Keep It Shut' produces a shift in mood and style. There is rhythm by the bucket full and it is used in a way that only really talented musicians can do. There are echoes of The Kinks in parts, with a seductive nod to the sixties- virtually impossible to stop yourself singing or even dancing to.
'Making Faces' moves back into the sound produced by 'Watch Committee' but with a darker feel to it. Once again, where this could descend into trash anarchy it is held back by the very fact that this music demands to be played with style.
Crash Convention are a tight band with a correspondingly shit hot sound. Vocally a great, gut twisting passion infuses every part of all four numbers, exhibiting the fragility of Fergal Sharkey, the snarl of Craig Nichols and the power of Johnny Rotten. There are points where they shake you and others where the poetry of the lyrics combined with the exquisite delivery connect to something deep inside that wants to shout "Yeah! That's me. I've been there too!"