THOSE DAMN CROWS

Murder And The Motive

EARACHE Youthful Welsh rockers get a second bite at the cherry

A quintet from Bridgend in Wales, Those Damn crows are still in their mid-to-late 20s but appreciate “the good stuff” – Alice In chains, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Bruce Springsteen and The Beatles – reheating and spicing up those influences with a spitball of Foo Fighters-esque, Green Day-like energy. However, it’s important to emphasise that TDc are taking something from the past and adding a contemporary spin. Released two years ago but now rebooted by Earache, this fine debut drips with potential. Guitarists Ian ‘Shiner’ Thomas and David Winchurch punch out filthy, often dark-sounding riffs, though Shane Greenhall’s voice administers a firm yet compromise-free radio-friendly polish, notably on an excellent, super-hummable anthem Blink Of An Eye. Better still, Rock ‘N’ Roll Ain’t Dead might just be a longlost, bastard great-grandchild of Twisted Sister’s We’re Not

Gonna Take It. FOR FANS OF: FOO FIGHTERS, SHINEDOWN, STONE BROKEN

DAVE LING