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Underground > Radio & Music >

Cranes

22:57 / 22.10.05

I picked up their latest (Particles And Waves) recently, savoured it in small doses for a while, and loved it.

I've been hooked since I first listened to Loved some ten years ago, and quickly discovered their earlier work.

Population Four was a bit of a letdown after that - not that it was bad, but it seemed less... inspired perhaps. The only Cranes gig I've been to so far was just after the release of this album and it left me somewhat unsatisfied — like the album, it certainly wasn't bad per se, but I felt they might as well have playbacked everything. If I'd bootlegged this concert, the thing most clearly distinguishing it as a live recording would have been the quartet of merry drunks in front of the stage who loudly declared their love for Alison inbetween songs (they were actually genuinely funny a couple of times, and the band took it all in good humour, though it did rub some of the more serious individuals in the audience the wrong way).

But anyway, Future Songs and now Particles And Waves more than made up for it - more melancholic than earlier works, and with a warmth that (at least to me) wasn't there previously, or at least to a far lesser extent. That I've gone through quite some shit in the past years and have become noticeably more melancholic myself may have something to do with it of course, and it may just be coincidence that made their music evolve in the same general direction, but anyway... they're one of those bands who have created a unique sound (and not just because of their lead singer, though she obviously stands out), yet still keep exploring and maturing — and one of the few bands whose music (even the sad bits) never fails to convince me that the world isn't all rotten.

So I was a bit surprised when I did a search here, and came up with absolutely nothing on them. I can't be the only one here, can I? Does anyone else here like Cranes? Or dislike them, for that matter? Share it here.

02:49 / 24.10.05

i bought their debut album when it was released, i was probably about 16 or 17. I thought it was awesome. Yeah, they definitely should be more widely known & deserve to be mentioned alongside Swans etc

08:45 / 24.10.05

I have a few old records by this lot. If you fancy buying them, PM me and I'll send you the titles. Can't remember off the top of my head.

Keith, like a scientist

15:25 / 24.10.05

someone put "Starblood" from Wings of Joy on a mixtape for me in high school, and i was thoroughly shocked and weirded out. Alison's voice...jeez, pierced right through me in that song. haven't been that shocked by a vocal again until the funeral dirge in Return of the King.

The entire album is lovely, especially "Adoration."

I had Forever for awhile, but it didn't wow me as much, although the "Jewel" remixes are quite amazing.

Haven't heard much since then...I was only vaguely aware that they had kept putting albums out. I will have to investigate more!

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

18:29 / 24.10.05

Wings Of Joy is ace... especially Starblood... especially the mix of Starblood that was on the free 12" that came with the album (which is probably on the CD or something- it was the same arrangement, but with more distortion and stuff. At the time it seemed like that made it better- in retrospect I'm thinking the normal version may have been better).

The first Cranes mini-album (I forget the name, but there were six tracks on it, if that helps) was ace too... when I first heard it I was in shock. It was like the Young Gods having a fight with Dead Can Dance, and totally fucking blew me away. At the time I was pretty much exclusively listening to Swans, Foetus and the Young Gods, and Cranes' knack of carving beauty from noise really was THE SHIT, as it were.

The last Cranes I heard was Population Four, which I have to admit I didn't like that much. I kind of gave up then, figuring they'd gone down a path I wasn't too interested in... but on the strength of the starting post, I may have to check out some more stuff.

Rollo Kim, on location

19:03 / 24.10.05

Lovely stuff. (For) Tomorrows Sorrows (?) is a wonderful piece of music. Really moving. I remember seeing a clip of the video on The Chart Show - must have been about 1992? Roud about the same time I remember seeing a clip of them live on T.V. - all routed to the spot staring into space playing in-front of a crazed crowd.

19:49 / 27.10.05

So I was a bit surprised when I did a search here, and came up with absolutely nothing on them.

There is at least one prior reference to the Cranes on Barbelith.

It’s well tucked away though

09:14 / 28.10.05

I remember them! I'd forgotten all about them, which is weird, cos the singer was mates with someone I used to share a flat with and came round for a cup of tea once.

*

15:40 / 28.10.05

This is absolutely vulgar curiosity on my part but... is her speaking voice as weird as her singing voice?

20:10 / 28.10.05

"is her speaking voice as weird as her singing voice?"

Pretty much, yes. It's quite distinct, anyway.

"The last Cranes I heard was Population Four, which I have to admit I didn't like that much"

Most fans seem to agree that it was one of their more mainstream-oriented works, being mostly a foray into college radio rock or somesuch. Not necessarily a bad thing, but also not exactly what many of the older fans are most interested in in the first place.
The later albums are far less rigidly structured again, and more dreamy and atmospherical than the earlier material. If you liked them until Population Four, you'll probably like the new stuff too.