By DJ Monk
The cross-national punk ‘n’ roll duo which takes its name from frontman Craggy Collyde first came to the attention of ÜRHQ back in 2018, when their rather excellent debut single bothered our deathdecks for a while. Much to our eternal shame, we did not actually cover the release at the time, but there’s a saying about being better late than never, so we’re making amends now that this more fulsome mini-album has winged its way from the Slovak Republic…
‘Wrapped Up In Ribbons’ is a pleasant, pleasing collection which follows a path that includes diversions into rockabilly, Americana and blues territories as much is does done the main rock ‘n’ roll highway. The songs each have their own character, bringing a diversity of sounds which nevertheless possess that all-important sense of homogeneity, as they are presented with a thoughtful approach to the set’s ease of progression, in that each flows naturally into the next, from the handclap-fuelled upbeat stroll of opener ‘Dead Refrain’, with its distortion-laden guitar riff, through to the melancholy reflectiveness of the closing duopoly of the title track and ‘In The Shade Of The Wild Oak Tree’.
In between, we have the joyous jig of ‘Roll Me’, a guaranteed hip-swaying, foot-tapping dancefloor starter, the indie-tinged power pop infection of ‘Don’t Put Me Down’, which weirdly had me imagining The Only Ones jamming with Ash, and the easy living summertime groove of ‘Better Than A Lie’, rounding out a collection of six tracks that definitely fit the descriptive of all killer with absolutely no filler.
- ‘Wrapped Up In Ribbons’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE. It is released on vinyl on 29 May.
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