“This is Only a Test” is a debut release by Crooked Cranes, an outstanding American band based in Fuquay Varina, North Carolina. Consisting of six incredible compositions, this exceptional extended play release will immediately appeal to all those music enthusiasts who appreciate cleverly assembled and flawlessly composed music. Lyrically, the material explores themes such as love, relationships, friendships, various sentiments, moods, situations, and circumstances, making “This is Only a Test” such a highly relatable collection of songs that will immediately resonate with the broader auditorium. Sonically, Crooked Cranes are heavily influenced by greats such as Dinosaur Jr, Built to Spill, The White Stripes, and The Who. They solely rely upon fundamental elements borrowed from several complementary music genres. Perhaps alternative rock comes to mind first, but you’ll unquestionably stumble upon some of the finest properties borrowed from grunge, garage rock, indie rock, power pop, and classic rock ‘n’ roll. Crooked Cranes use all these additional sonic ingredients as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details to elevate this collection of songs to new heights while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Perhaps their music resonates with all those qualities that meet all the trends in contemporary music production, but you’ll undoubtedly notice subtle touches of nostalgia lurking around. The band expertly incorporates some of the finest moves that vividly resemble the eighties and nineties alternative and indie rock sound. Therefore, these experimentations with different approaches and complementary music styles resulted in a catchy, memorable, engaging listening experience worth repeating over and over again.
This epic sonic journey commences with “GF,” an incredible opening track that demonstrates Crooked Cranes’ power and precision. The heavily distorted chord progressions and riffs shape a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon while contributing more rawness, abrasiveness, and grittiness to the ambiance. In the meantime, the profoundly melodic vocal harmonies elevate everything to new heights while guiding the listening apparatus through every segment of the song. Beneath all these vocals and guitars, intricate bassline rumble, offering more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth. The drumming keeps everything in line and dictates groove and tempo. Every hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, and splash over the cymbals provides even more groove and detail to this excellent introducing song. The band calms things down with “Mehico,” another beautiful song that blends only the best elements of the late sixties and early seventies garage rock music. You’ll notice all those jangly yet tastefully distorted, hypnotic riffs lurking around while the rhythm section contributes groove through profoundly detailed beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics. The rich, deep, dense, and heavy low-ends offer more warmth and depth during the entire track while the vocals represent the heart and soul of this composition, providing emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate structure. Crooked Cranes is one of those bands that seamlessly transforms with every track. “Dolfin” exemplifies how they switch from alternative or garage rock sound to a more calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal indie ambiance. The band retains that garage feel but with a more clean, polished, melodic sound. Each instrument plays a significant role in this sonic equation, building a hypnotic, addictive, and irresistible soundscape that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats end.
The band continues in the same style with “Interstate Song,” but with more spring reverb included along the way. This effect unquestionably adds those surf and dream pop vibes yet the band retains that indie ambiance by incorporating more catchy chord progressions, detailed basslines, and moderate rhythmic patterns. Once again, the vocal elevates everything to an entirely new level, commands attention, and guides the listening apparatus. These vocal harmonies seamlessly balance between low, mid, and high notes, emphasizing everything Crooked Cranes intended to achieve with this track. “Met A Girl” returns back into grunge, garage, and alternative rock waters with more catchy, powerful, heavily distorted riffs. The guitars reign supreme here. You’ll notice how the band fully stacked this track with so many layers. It’s nearly mindblowing how all these layers articulate together without overwhelming each other. Besides dominant guitar works, you’ll also notice all those chunky basslines delivering warmness to those fuzzy orchestrations. The tastefully arranged, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, moderate rhythmic patterns propel each section to a new level, and they also contribute in building such a hypnotic soundscape that immediately wraps around your listening apparatus. This beautiful sonic journey ends with “NeWay,” another fascinating indie song that showcases all of Crooked Cranes’ songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing abilities. It’s such a perfect closure that will immediately force you to spin this material again.
Crooked Cranes crafted a perfect debut. With six fascinating tracks, “This is Only a Test” is more than just a test of their abilities. It’s a showcase of tremendous experience, knowledge, skills, and talent, housed in mesmerizing and meaningful songs that tackle all the senses. You should immediately place this EP on your radar. “This is Only a Test” is available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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