Craving for more
Its always a bonus when a support band turns out to be a bit of a surprise. That was the case here, only instead of a bit of a surprise, they were a huge bastard of an explosion of a surprise. I only anticipated reviewing Shinedown, but as good as The Crave were I felt I had to put finger (I only use the one!) to keyboard.
Hailing all the way from Brighton, The Crave play a hybrid blend of high octane pop-rock, very radio friendly, extremely catchy and filled with memorable choruses and great hooks. Apologies up front if I didn’t get the set list correct. Opening up with ‘My Little Secret’ its a high energy, simple riff number but very effective. Vocalist / Guitarist Ryan Burnett handles his duties impeccably and guitarist in crime Carlos Garcia has the style and swagger of a seasoned rock star, pulling shapes etc from the ‘Guitar God 101’ bumper book of moves.
There's not many British bands playing in this style. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think their brand of polished, attitude filled, hit single style songs were a product of a major US label, maybe that's not too distant. Other highlights were the excellent ‘The Stray’, an excellent crossover pop-rock song designed for the MTV market, ‘High’, ‘Headlights’ and ‘Lost in You’.
Forty five minutes later and The Crave had won everyone over, their work here was done. One of the best support bands I've seen in quite some time. Now to buy the album!