Album Review

Crowns – Stitches In The Flag

• 1st Nov 2012

What do you get if you cross traditional Cornish folk music with raucous pop-punk? The answer seems to come from the band Crowns and they call it fishpunk.

Stitches In The Flag is the debut album from the boys out of Launceston, Cornwall, who have already built a reputation for great live shows. Lead singer and guitarist Bill Jefferson, bass player Jake Butler, mandolinist Jack Speckleton and drummer Nathan Haynes have relocated to London for now, but this album was really made in Cornwall.

With the opening title track Crowns set out their stall in the first two minutes of the album. It’s loud and fast, with the chorus something of a shoutalong anthem. Think folk music on amphetamines and you wouldn’t be too far off. But it’s as catchy as anything and has a joyous pride that tells you exactly what these boys think of their native Cornwall. Four Walls follows in similar fashion with strident lead vocals backed by solid harmonies and great instrumentation. China Clay is also anthemic and fast paced, the pride replaced here with anger at those who use Cornwall only as a once a year holiday home.

Just when you think you have a handle on Crowns, along comes My London. This tender love song for their adopted home is quite beautiful. Bill Jefferson’s slower vocals work well, backed by an acoustic guitar and mandolin. The track is melodic and passionate, demonstrating that there is far more to this band than the adrenalin filled start to the album has shown.

Full Swing picks up the pace once again, the call and response vocals powerful. She Gets Me (Where I Wanna Be) has a strong drum beat driving it forward and some fine mandolin work, although the lyrics are a little repetitive. Boscastle Breakdown borrows a traditional Cornish tale for a high energy song that features dancing on gravestones. There’s something almost manic about the feel here, an old tale given a very modern sheen.

Windmill Hill is the one instrumental track on the album. The pace is just a little slower and the melody is clear and nicely picked out by the mandolin. It’s just impossible to listen to this one while sitting still. The current single Partying On The Porch follows, its heartfelt sincerity clear amidst the fast rhythms.

Safe Train Home is another with a solid drum beat as the album hurtles relentlessly forward. Again the chorus is big and shouted, anthemic and passionate. The album finishes in style with Little Eyes, the usual set closer from live shows. What started as an American doo-wop track is now a joyous love song with power and passion harnessed into a folk punk anthem. It rises and falls, the vocals almost standing alone before one last breathless chorus brings the album to a crescendo. It’s a fine way to finish an album, and I can only imagine how great it will work on stage.

Stitches In The Flag is a powerful way for Crowns to introduce themselves to the musical world. It is high energy and high quality, and very different. There may be a sameness about a few of the tracks, but the band don’t drag things out. Indeed the whole album comes in at around 30 minutes, which is short for eleven tracks. But that’s what works best for this type of high octane music.

So what do you get if you cross traditional Cornish folk music with raucous pop-punk? You get fishpunk and I like it.

Venue: Stitches In The Flag
Support Band: Shipwreck Records