cruush – Great Dane
Manchester quartet cruush release “Great Dane” via Heist or Hit. The band is updating their trademark hazy sound to something brighter, bolder, and more solid—a purposely more direct approach.
The track is about the daily commute between Todmorden and Manchester Victoria. Vocalist and lyricist Amber Warren explains: “It’s a song about the 20 to 28 minutes on the train between Todmorden and Manchester Victoria. A daily commute can really poison how beautiful a journey is. Like an oil spill devastating the countryside outside Rochdale; Smithybridge has been absolutely fucked, mate”.
The title comes from the line “there’s a Great Dane in my pocket again”—ridiculous because a Great Dane would never fit in your pocket. Warren continues: “We tend to carry too much around in our pockets, though, don’t we?”
The riff came together in a London guitar shop before a gig. Warren describes it: “Pure Waynes World – ‘there I was man with this axe staring me down. I slipped off my fingerless leather gloves and the riff just came straight out of it’. It’s how I imagine The Darkness write their songs”.
cruush have been on a sonic soul search lately. Having spent years building songs around thick walls of fuzz and dissonance, they’ve evolved to harness loud-quiet dynamics and pop sensibilities. “Great Dane” was recorded with producer Owen Turner at Sickroom Studios in Norfolk, whose work with Brownhorse was a key catalyst for their musical gear shift.
The band—Amber Warren (vocals/guitar), Arthur Boyd (guitar), Fotis Kalantzis (drums), and Bruno Evans (bass)—describe their sound as “gross, awkward but pretty fucking rockin'” Music forged in the drudgery of service jobs and rainy Manchester nights, buried in cosy blankets of indie-rock fuzz.
Tour Dates:
- February 25 – Bristol – The Lanes (Free entry)
- February 26 – London – The Grace
- February 27 – Northampton – The Garibaldi Hotel
- February 28 – Southampton – Heartbreakers
- March 5 – Leeds – Headrow House
- March 7 – Manchester – Gullivers
- March 10 – Hull – The Polar Bear
- March 12 – Sheffield – The Washington
- May 9 – Wrexham – The Parish (Focus Wales)
- May 15-16 – Paris – Supersonic (Block Party)
