Crushed Beaks - Scatter

Crushed Beaks’ debut album ‘Scatter’ is two years in the making. Starting out as an octopus-like band - in possession of 8 limbs, a guitar and a drum kit - the London band recently recruited a bassist. The band’s newest member, Scott Bowley, brings a new intensity to ‘Scatter’. The unleashed mayhem of Crushed Beaks’ earliest demos isn’t exactly tamed, but it does sound less ramshackle and gritty.

Matthew Poile’s vocals, melodic and slightly gravelly - like a bunged-up Morrissey, or Joe Strummer fronting a Northern Soul covers band - give the band an instantly recognisable voice, urging forth stand outs like ‘Rising Sign’ with cries of “the more I think about, the less I care.” Despite ‘Scatter’s unchanging pounding foundations, Crushed Beaks often find pockets of shimmering melodies, shifting gear effortlessly from dirgy verses to twinkling guitars time and time again.

The chaffy bits are stripped away, the melodies are as paired-back as ever, and Crushed Beaks hit hard and fast in the most vital places. On ‘Scatter’, Crushed Beaks find their a solid centre, as well as a gift for urgent, spangly melody.