Maybe it's a sweeping generalisation, or a simple truth. You be the judge. There are two types of rock band. There are the ones who go for the flash of the moment, the fleeting trend, who sell their souls at the earliest opportunity, who get all the coverage, all the breaks, all the money thrown at them and all the airplay, and who end up meaning jackshit to nobody. Then there are the bands who follow their own instincts, play from the heart, go for what they know with what they know to be r...
Maybe it's a sweeping generalisation, or a simple truth. You be the judge. There are two types of rock band. There are the ones who go for the flash of the moment, the fleeting trend, who sell their souls at the earliest opportunity, who get all the coverage, all the breaks, all the money thrown at them and all the airplay, and who end up meaning jackshit to nobody. Then there are the bands who follow their own instincts, play from the heart, go for what they know with what they know to be right (the others be damned), who end up lodging in a special place of your heart forever. Bands who know who they are, and what they want, and won't be swayed by anything, and you only love them more for that. Crackout are just such a band. They're young, yeah. Steven Eagles (guitars that rage and caress, vocals that do the same), Jack Dunkley (low-end frequencies) and Nicholas Millard (the jazz-loving drummer with the dead-eyed rock chops) are only a couple of years out of school, a couple of years of kicking around their hometown Buckingham, trying to make sense of their passions for AC/DC, The Cure and Weezer, always dreaming. But what a couple of years. Their first big gig was in front of an arena-full of Nine Inch Nails fans at last year's ill-fated Lost Weekend festival, a surreal beginning to a most gonzo year. "We were on at 4pm, then we went and got drunk," remembers Jack. "It was weird playing, looking up at a huge video screen, and seeing your arse displayed on it." Prior to this Crackout had clocked-up nearly 100 gigs in their little van across the length and breadth of Britain. It wasn't the most auspicious of beginnings, but soon Crackout's fierce, tender blend of raucous noise and lazer-guided melody saw them accompanying all manner of rock aristo across the UK and Europe. Go on, ask the boys about blazing through Europe with Amen, or the life-changing shows they've played in the burrows of Britain with kindred spirits Sunna and Miocene, or the time a roomful of baying Sick Of It All fans tested Crackout's mettle to breaking point. They might not have years under their belt, but they've travelled the miles. You can hear it on 'This Is Really Neat', their electrifying debut album, which follows an early single on Oxford indie Shifty Disco Records, and two EPs on Precious Cargo. Still possessed with the manic energy and fizzing guitar fury of their earlier releases, it nevertheless drips a maturity, a self-assuredness that belies their years. Not for Crackout big name producers or expensive swanky studios; the album was recorded in Austin, Texas with David Eaton, chosen by the band because they so loved an album he made for obscure Austin emocore outfit Dynamite Hack. "There's a certain immorality about how records are made now," scowls Steven. "This album was recorded totally live, with no technology involved." You can feel the blood coursing through every track. Making the record was an experience in itself; Jack went a little loopy, spending hours in his hotel room with his covers over his head. Steven lost himself in the studio, immersing himself in the art of recording, and testing his limits as an artist. Those who've followed Crackout's career to date will be surprised by the different textures and moods on the LP, the moments of time-out between the furious squalling guitar. This is a band ever gaining in confidence, learning what they can do, growing in strength. Steven's earliest songs were softer, gentler than the punk-pop which has sold Crackout to a burgeoning new rock generation. On the album, these songs stretch out alongside inspired thrash like 'Joey's Lost His Mind', perfectly off-setting one another. While Crackout are still learning what they want to be, they're dead-certain of what they're not. They're not Nu-Metal, for one thing [they hate it - good taste, lads]. No, Crackout belong to that more impassioned pocket of young British rock bands who wouldn't take a penny for their integrity, bands like tourmates Kids Near Water, Hundred Reasons, Hell Is For Heroes... And it's just the (fantastic) beginning. If 'This Is Really Neat' leaves you with any feeling beyond the sheer, buzzing power of its songs, it's of all that lays within their able grasp, and the ambition that throbs within its grooves. Rising a rock emotional to its core, Crackout will navigate the expressway to your heart with ease.
