80%
Here in Australia we have a special way of taking musical form and creating something individual to us with it. Crankees are a Sydney based punk band doing just that. They take all the influences from your favourite jangly garage punk bands, add some Vegemite (or some other unique Aussie flavour, you pick) coming out the other side with a spiky and punchy album that will slot in amongst your favourite old tunes.
The first handful of tracks come splitting out of the speakers like 1978 barely relenting with clean guitar tones and the odd bit of keyboard thrown in for good measure. Then The Singularity shows what the band can really do as it slows into a groove to get a message across and endures you are listening, followed up swiftly with Scream Out For Sheb a track that reminded this listener of The Dead Kennedys with a little less surf rock and a bit more guitar chaos if that is possible.
The ‘Aussie’ crops its head up again on Bush Week and Smoke Bomb, a couple of individual tracks that really stand out in the middle of the album keeping the rock n roll sag to a minimum. The only real dud-like track so far being the balladesque More Than a Fool.
This is Aussie punk with less ocker and more rock cred than some other Australian bands kicking about the same scene in recent years. Sure there is a celebration of whatever it is that makes us so individual as a country only less played on, more played too. Creating an album as memorable for one or two tracks as its complete half hour run time.
