cranes
may 21, 1997 • batschkapp, frankfurt, germany


review: Opening band Silkscreen are so stunningly average I'm almost knocked over with boredom (see --- I can do dismissive and vitriol, as well as unswerving praise!), but Cranes, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, more than redress the balance. Alison Shaw, with her sometimes hiccuping, mostly soaring, always childlike voice, is transfixing; so shy and vulnerable that it's sometimes embarrassing to watch. The songs veer between the serene ("Tangled Up," "Angel Bell") and the downright aggressive ("Lilies," the magnificent "Starblood") and although their best songs --- "Paris and Rome," "Sweet Unknown," "Leave Her To Heaven" --- are missing, it's still fantastic. (andrew.1997)