This One Time, On Bandcamp: Crusch

Holy heck, it's Christmas next week. Where did that come from? Where does the time go? Where did you come from, Cotton Eye Joe?

Why can't anyone answer that question, even after all these years?

No matter; it's not like any of us have the time to dwell on such things these days anyway. The Year Of Our Lord 2016 is swiftly approaching its final stretch, and I think it's pretty safe to say that we're all largely pretty damn stoked about that, what with all the awfulness that's been getting about this year.

Sure, it's probably a bit naive and optimistic to expect, just because we're about to enter a new iteration of a man-made cycle that measures the passage of time, that any of the fundamental badness of the planet is likely to change, or that old celebrities are going to stop dying suddenly, or that climate change will miraculously reverse course… but still: c'mon, 2017. 

Time to get in the festive spirit then, if by "festive spirit" we mean "seriously downcast". We do, right? That's how I party, anyway. Eyes to the ground, motherfuckers. 

Crusch — Melbourne, Vic

Bashing out their feelings in the venues of Melbourne for a few years now, Crusch are a consistently excellent yet under-appreciated entry in Australia's (somewhat surprisingly) vibrant emo scene.

Sitting comfortably alongside contemporaries such as Arrows (RIP), We Set Sail and others, Crusch pull their cues from the heartfelt-angst-rock scene of the mid-'90s, harking back to classic American indie emo bands such as Benton Falls, Braid and Mineral, and even sharing some instrumental commonalities with now-defunct modern revival flag-bearers Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate). (The back-half build-up in Apartment, from 2013 two-tracker Summerhill, deeply recalls EEIWALE circa their debut LP, What It Takes To Move Forward).

With their newest release, September's three-track Self/Centred EP, Crusch have added to their recorded oeuvre with a refined sensibility in their songwriting; there's a sophistication in their newer songs such as Card Over The Bar and Dog that had not yet totally manifested — yet was still showing copious potential — in their earlier work. It's well and truly here now, though, and we're all the more fortunate for it.

It's little wonder, then, that Crusch were picked up by Adelaide label Hobbledehoy Record Co. earlier this year to release Self/Centred. This is a band that, now more than five years on from the effective rebirth of the international emo scene under the probably now-passe banner of a "revival", is ensuring that movement remains relevant in a local context regardless of the cultural undulations it endures.

It couldn't ask for better ambassadors. To keep connected with Crusch in 2017, give them a Like on Facebook.

Releases

Self/Centred — EP, Sept 2016

Summerhill — EP, Nov 2013

Hear more tracks at Bandcamp.

Got an independent band? Got a Bandcamp page (y'know, because the title really doesn't work without it)?

Let us know if you want us to listen to your tunes, and you might get featured in a future edition of This One Time, On Bandcamp!