Emerging from the Manchester scene on a groundswell of acclaim & sold out shows, alt heavyweights Cruush sign to Heist or Hit. Creating shoegaze for digital natives, a generation for whom pluralism is commonplace, Cruush pull at the brain-bypass grandeur of the genre they love, while lacing the punch with a contemporary aesthetic.
Label and band met at the Independent Label Market in Manchester. Lead singer Amber remembers “I saw the market being advertised whilst being at work so got us some cringe flyers printed. Fotis and I went straight over to the Heist or Hit stand because we saw the Her’s vinyl. I mentioned that one of our main influences is My Bloody Valentine and the label said they’d draw up a contract right away!”
While more traditional approaches to shoegaze suffocate the vocal and message, Amber’s melodic splendour is antidote-like, stealing attention from the tidal waves of noise with queasy timbres of disillusion, doubt and confusion. It’s on this that the band are able to pivot into grungier textures, emerging once in a while to let sunlight hit the skin, before plunging back into the gloaming & grunt of distortion.
Raw and exciting, Cruush sound like a manufacturing error of prettiness. A fresh take in what can, at times, feel like a corroding scene.
Sombre By The Weekend is out now. Find out more by clicking here.
