Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea – I Watched It From The Roadside

 

Brighton post-punk four-piece Crooked Mountain, Crooked Sea begin their EP by rehashing Slow News Day from previous release A Small Version of a Party. It starts somewhere between The Smiths and Bauhaus, all jangly guitar and distant vocals, but plunges into a ragged-throated chorus closer to Cursive or Dashboard prophets– that is, crossing the Atlantic in terms of its sonic touchstones.

Most of the songs here veer between these two approaches note by note; Out in the Dark again unable to decide if it wants to be a rock lullaby or a hardcore howl. Mice in the Cellar similarly begins promisingly with a menacing prickle of electric guitar, but loses it’s after only fifteen seconds to screamo self-indulgence, making for a frustrating listen. [Oisín Kealy]