Key Tracks: “Filth,” “The Hunt”
Whether it’s the underdiscussed hardcore revival happening, or my own tastes mutating out of solidifying anger at the world, or a combination of both – I’ve been digging into more and more hardcore bands over the past two years. There is absolutely a rebirth of hardcore happening, both classic and new mutations. Bands like Knocked Loose and Turnstile are taking the format of hardcore and spicing it up with anything they please, and pushing it onto stages not normally reserved for hardcore. It feels like every day I hear about a new hardcore band from a new corner of the continent. Well today, it’s Cräne, out of Montreal. They’re ultra-fresh on the scene, having just put their debut EP, 15 Minutes de Plaisir. As someone who loves hardcore and has always kept up with French lessons, c’est un grand cadeaux pour moi.
Cräne is made up of Shirley on vocals, Jypse on guitar, Wawa on bass and Frank on drums.Although this band is new, it brings together members of Powercup, Apostoloï, Wild Call and Ditch. The band stray closer to the standard hardcore side of things, but never feel too complacent about it. All eight songs here are defiantly hardcore, from the bass opening of “Mépris” to the more drawn-out closer, “The Hunt.” Fans of classic hardcore will find solace in all 70 seconds of “Dead Heat,” a power chord-heavy blast of aggression. “Filth” and “Time’s Up” are also among the EP’s more hardcore-heavy tunes.
But some songs go a little more astray. There’s a persistent garage rock influence on the tape, especially on “Lasso” and “The Hunt.” There’s some early 60’s proto-psychdelia present in the frantic melodicism. “Mépris” kicks the tape off with some of that energy as well, also backed up by some 70’s psychedelic-inspired vocals from Shirley. “Édifiant” is longer and denser than most of the other songs here, taking just a touch more time to lay things out. The longest track is “The Hunt,” a second shy of three minutes, and on top of the garage rock there’s a real 90’s punk feel to it. It’s the most melodic song on the tape, with hints of bands like Rancid in the rhythm.
Gone are the stereotypical niceties of Canadians. This is aggressive hardcore, and the energy is palpable. The tape is, in case the title was not clear, only 15 minutes or so long. These songs put bass front and center, courtesy of opportunistic pummeling from Wawa. Shirley gets some good lyrical licks in too, singing “Hope you never get laid, hope you never the chance” on “Filth.” Her vocals carry most of these songs, with a big, shrieking feel to them that you don’t find too often in hardcore. It’s clear they’re not just ingesting hardcore, but old school garage rock and classic rock as well. Cräne might only be just now testing the waters, but it’s an impressive little debut to watch out for.
15 minutes de plaisir is available now on Bandcamp.
