Craw
“Bodies for Strontium 90”
(Hydra Head Records)
I live with my buddy Jason who is a grad student studying biochemistry at UCSB. I asked him what Strontium was and he said it was some sort of radioactive metal but he didn’t know exactly what it was for. That’s pretty fitting because I have no idea what this Craw record is for. Not quite grindcore, not quite fun to listen to, “Strontium” is forty minutes of darkness and chaotic screams masquerading as something else. Reading through the lyrics it’s pretty clear that these guys are pretty intelligent, but seeing as how their singer sounds a lot like Chewbacca, you’d never know it. You know what this music sounds like? It sounds like a racket. My grandma would call this a racket. “Turn that racket down,” she’d say. “I don’t like the darkness and creepiness. It makes me think of Satan with all of those guitars and those scary drums. I can’t understand anything the singer is saying but I’m pretty sure it’s about Satan. What’s the name of this band? Craw? I don’t like them. They sound like they’re from Cleveland.” I’d have to say I pretty much agree with my grandma on this one. And Jason, too.
