Following the release of their debut EP Bless The Idea via Duchess Box Records, the Berlin-based Crow Baby today drop a searing new punk single titled “Only If You Work” and we’re here for every bit of misdemeanour that the two-piece have to offer.
Fronted by Jean-Louise Parker and Cherilyn MacNeil – both born and raised in Joburg before relocating way up North – Crow Baby is an unashamed art-pop project with a fearlessly independent spirit. Think messy, mean cheerleaders.
As to be expected, “Only If You Work” is delightfully wry and mischievous, with a driving beat that calls to mind The White Stripes, only far more experimental.
Spiky guitar rhythms wander off in different directions, while arpeggiated minors and discordant flats bring an unsettling darkwave energy. The instrumental qualities of this track are incredibly striking. Playful, eclectic – these are the words that best describe Crow Baby’s bold and unapologetic style.
The melodrama escalates in the bridge as the duo dig their heels in, insisting that they are able to do it all alone, refusing vulnerability at all costs. This stubborn commitment to the grind seems to bring the song hurtling abruptly to its end, where it falls completely off the rails – an apt musical metaphor for what we might be doing to ourselves in this culture of 21st century hustle.
But the best thing about this unruly offering is just how unique it feels. So few bands have the guts to take risks nowadays. The looming algorithm makes it easy to feign something that is supposedly underground, when in actual fact it’s just a different side of the same commercial coin.
What Crow Baby do, it’s ballsy. It’s not packaged up. It’s not neat and sellable. This unfortunately means that it will take the duo longer to find their audience, but when they finally do, it will be real.
Why? Because they’ve remained true to who they are. Fuck the algorithm.
