Announcing new album Reason Enough last month, today Crows share new single ‘Vision Of Me’, another stand out from the record following ‘Bored’.
James Cox explains, “When writing ‘Vision Of Me’ I was struggling with some unhealthy emotional tendencies that I’d developed over several years. I was exploring my own reactive behaviour and becoming someone I hated, and at the same time, coming to terms with the reasons this happened. It’s a very cathartic song for me as it stirs up some difficult memories, but also shows me how far I’ve come since then, and that the things that took me there are no longer able to hurt me.”
On the video, director Alexandre Do said “This song made me think of how hard it is to change as a person, how we usually fall back to our own habits. I wanted to see hundreds of clones of James, past versions of him who all do the same thing in an immovable routine. Making this music video was a real feat, but I am ecstatic seeing it on screen and so thankful to all the people who believed in us and the idea.”
Their 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 27th September via Bad Vibrations, 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.
Tracklist
01. Reason Enough
02. Bored
03. Is It Better
04. Vision Of Me
05. Land Of The Rose
06. Every Day Of The Year
07. Lie To Me
08. Living On My Knees
09. Silhouettes
10. D-Gent
Reason Enough out 27th September 2024 via Bad Vibrations Pre-order HERE
Working on Reason Enough, 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.
While political threads have long run through Crows’ music, this 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.
In their almost decade as a band, they’ve seen support from KEXP, The Line Of Best Fit, NME, BBC 6 Music, HUCK, CLASH, Loud & Quiet, The Observer, I Paper, CRACK, Kerrang, Rough Trade, The Independent, BBC Radio 1. and have supported Wolf Alice in the states. Singer James Cox has also recently fronted band Humanist which have supported Depeche Mode on their arena tours as well as Jane’s Addiction.
Crows will tour the UK/EU this October into November, with tickets on sale now. Tickets available here.
