{"id":19620,"date":"2014-03-21T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2014-03-21T00:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=19620"},"modified":"2014-07-08T01:48:30","modified_gmt":"2014-07-08T01:48:30","slug":"album-review-crowsaw-smoke-and-feathers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-crowsaw-smoke-and-feathers\/","title":{"rendered":"CROWSAW – Smoke & Feathers (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

CROWSAW
Smoke & Feathers<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nSelf-released (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Well, it\u2019s nice to hear a slice of blues-influenced contemporary rock that doesn\u2019t labour. British trio Crowsaw formed back in 2012, vocalist \/ guitarist Rob \u201cBatdog\u201d Lomax originally starting the band to perform cover versions.<\/p>\n

Thankfully though, the band began to express their talent in 2013 by writing their own material. It\u2019s a move one can only admire, because as debut albums go this is a cracker. <\/p>\n

If you like hard-edged grooves, fluent riffs, effortlessly soulful vocals and solid drumming, then why not spend some of your hard-earned money on this lil\u2019 beauty? Crowsaw also consists of drummer Elvin Robinson and bassist Glyn Mason, and it\u2019s clear as \u2018Skin & Bones\u2019 swaggers from the stereo that this is a cohesive unit who sound as if they\u2019ve been playing together for years. It\u2019s cool, hip and weighty, but it drifts on the breeze at the same time.<\/p>\n

Initially \u2018Skin & Bones\u2019 chugs into the room like Corrosion Of Conformity at their bluesiest, but then the track becomes a fluid stomper featuring that sturdy percussive backbone and a trickle of Cream and Deep Purple. The solos are assured as they accompany the rattling bass and equally convincing drums, and so the track is a perfect way for the band to enter the arena. <\/p>\n

Next up is the riveting swagger of \u2018Money\u2019, as Lomax asks, \u201cAre you gonna be what you say you will? Are you gonna rise for me?\u201d<\/em> over a gallop of drums and guitar. \u2018Money\u2019 is funky, sharp and groovy, and an ideal follow up to \u2018Skin & Bones\u2019.<\/p>\n

With the third track, Crowsaw strut into the title cut. The pace is dropped as we\u2019re treated to a creeping chug before the uptempo groove of the chorus. It\u2019s all so nice on the ears; the combo creates a number of instantly catchy numbers, whether in the form of the Cream \/ Jimi Hendrix-styled fire of \u2018Voodoo Temptation\u2019, or the bass plod of \u2018Blues Bitch\u2019 with its shuffling drum and the cool kick of \u2018Dog Of Nine\u2019 with its funk jolt.<\/p>\n

Smoke & Feathers<\/em> is a record you can warm to instantly. While not an entirely \u201cheavy metal\u201d record, it contains enough weight, soul and fire which are qualities that pour from the ten well-written songs on offer. Musically the album remains interesting throughout, and there is some truly fascinating segments that maintain a hot smokin\u2019 groove. The aforementioned \u2018Dog Of Nine\u2019 is a fine example of how a band can indulge in experimentation without alienating the listener. And with the upbeat \u2018JFY\u2019 finishing the album off in fine style, it\u2019s fair to say that Crowsaw are a talented bunch of musicians. If you don\u2019t like them, well, just funk you!<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CROWSAWSmoke & Feathers Self-released (2014)Rating: 8\/10 Well, it\u2019s nice to hear a slice of blues-influenced contemporary rock that doesn\u2019t labour. British trio Crowsaw formed back in 2012, vocalist \/ guitarist Rob \u201cBatdog\u201d Lomax originally starting the band to perform cover versions. Thankfully though, the band began to express their talent in 2013 by writing their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1283],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-crowsaw"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19620"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19623,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19620\/revisions\/19623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}