Review Summary: Crows-An-Wra improve on every aspect of their songwriting to drop what could easily be an utterly defining release for the genre and the scene
Kalopsia creeps and broods for about two minutes before it slashes out in both fury and fear. Guitars crash around you. Singer Jacob Porter screams about Icarus into your skull. The guitars and bass screech before bubbling back under the surface and you realise you’ve only been here a minute.
Cornwall screamo outfit Crows-An-Wra’s 25-minute long debut album features an impressive amount of passion, one not unlike fellow DIY band
We Came Out Like Tigers. But Crows-An-Wra are different in that they wrap their intense songs in strangely accessible melodies. Witness the almost upbeat reverb-heavy openning riff in “Dismay! The Seconds Slow” or the haunting yet soothing guest vocals from Elizabeth Burchley on “Heavy Heads (I)” and “Blossoms (II)”. Crows-An-Wra do deliver their twisting and turning songs with fire, but they also deliver them with style. And aren’t afraid to cut your throat from behind with sudden outpours of noise.
What makes
Kalopsia important is just how fun it is. While undeniably heavy and hard-hitting, there are lot of influences from the horror punk of
Misfits and even early
My Chemical Romance. The songs are punchy and quick and enthusiastic yet still dark and enthralling. Enigmatic vocals yelp over enigmatic guitar lines. Yet it is unafraid to stick to its roots, with winding song patterns influenced by genre veterans like
Funeral Diner and even
At The Drive-In.
But Crows-An-Wra, unlike them, don’t want to die. With
Kalopsia, they want to take you on a ride. Like Icarus into the sun. And then Porter repeatedly screams "why can’t we die?" as the bubbling lava of crashing guitar feedback burns you out and leaves you to die instead. Oh well.
