Crumbs – Mind Yr Manners

It’s easy to characterise Leeds four-piece Crumbs as noisy upstarts; on the more boisterous moments of their debut record, the basslines are bouncy and the vocals downright bratty. To pigenhole them completely in that regard, though, would be to play down the darker points on Mind Yr Manners, like the stormy reflection on mental health struggles that lead single Cha Cha Feels represents. 

The Leeds four-piece have certainly already carved out their own sound; vocalist Ruth Gilmore channels Kathleen Hanna throughout, and whilst the guitars switch between belligerent and melodic, they’re always pretty scuzzy. A slew of puntastic track titles – Chaka Can’t, Stockport Syndrome, Ciggy Stardust – belie the more taciturn nature of the actual lyrics; On Tiptoes is quietly confrontational, for instance, whilst Bunnies is sonically playful, but there’s stress hidden beneath the pop. 

As is now pretty much tradition when he takes the reins behind the production desk, huge kudos should be afforded to MJ of Hookworms, who helms the album and brings out the best in the requisite nervous energy by letting feedback ring out in the right places whilst still giving the group’s songwriting talents space to breathe. 

Mind Yr Manners is ultimately found wanting on the originality front; there’s no question whatsoever that they wear their influences on their sleeve, and their tendency to flit between flippancy and poignancy in lyrical terms is something that’s been done a ton elsewhere this year alone. Girl Ray’s superior Earl Grey is a potent case in point. That said, there remains enough of the band’s idiosyncrasies on full display here to make it a worthwhile whirlwind of a listen – their energy seldom falls short of infectious.

Listen to: Cha Cha Feels, Ciggy Stardust