THE CRASH MATS 69 Spotify listeners can’t be wrong



THE CRASH MATS

69 Spotify Listeners Can’t All Be Wrong

Horn & Hoof Records (11/09/23)


Sticky riffs, dank beats, and absurdist tales… Oldham’s very own punk-pop-skacore power trio are back with 15 minutes of unrestrained fun!


Warm, inviting, and guaranteed to leave you in a spin, The Crash Mats hybrid sound splashes colour across the DIY scene with giddily infectious songs that get the feet moving and the belly laughing. Starting their new LP as they mean to go on, the snappily titled 69 Spotify Listeners Can’t All Be Wrong rolls out with a jaunty guitar line and descending melody on We’re Not Going Back…, a 50-second protest against a certain budget-bakery’s menu offering. The food-related lyrical theme spreads itself across the album with Revenge of the Sausage Roll stomping along on a ska groove and football-terrace chorus, and Curry Party’s blaze of guitar noise and driving tempo enough to give anyone the munchies.


Grabbing bits and pieces from across the punk spectrum, the album blends the aforementioned influences with some heavier moments, most notably on the menacing Casa Belmondo which alternates between chirpy upstrokes on the verse and a grimy, grungey, grunted chorus. If the band were a late-80s detective TV show this would surely be their theme tune. Angular, patient guitar lines precede a Fugazi-esque freakout on album highlight There’s a Grow on my Street, whereas Too Fat to Fly races along at breakneck speed in wobbly skater fashion. The band hit peak pop-punk on Kirk where spindly guitars meet clanging bass to provide the backing to Danny’s sing-song vocal. This is swiftly followed by a noisey, ska-inflected ode to cult footballing prodigy (who never did quite became the next Pele), Freddie Adu.


So, if you are looking for a fun way to fill a quarter-hour or need a quick pick-me-up when feeling low, blast this album as loud as possible and sink into the playful world of The Crash Mats. As they say, 69 Spotify listeners can’t all be wrong… can they?!


Judge for yourself: https://hornhoofrecords.bandcamp.com/album/69-spotify-listeners-cant-all-be-wrong

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