Music CD Reviews

8:00am Thursday 20th October 2005

Artist - The Crimea
Album - Tragedy Rocks
Label - Warner Bros

Sometimes British bands end up all sneery and attitude-first, so it is refreshing, in an age when anyone cares what Pete Doherty does, to hear a debut that lets the music do all the talking.

Like a modern day Kinks, Tragedy Rocks presents wholly resolved songs laden with melody, dynamics and lyrics: rock with intelligence and invention, and a good measure.

The late John Peel loved their single Lottery Winners on Acid, the happiest and most spellbinding song here. The band, at turns, sound like others such as Australian band The Church, Ed Harcourt, mid-80s Waterboys, with touches of the Beach Boys (the latter probably the most intentional, for example on Bad Vibrations).

The highlights of this album suggest a band that has a real star in frontman Davey McManus. Although there are more than a few directions they could take musically, on this evidence, the mix here certainly means nothing gets old.

Rating 9/10