casual smart: cranes
Self Release
DL
Cardiff newcomers casual smart share the new single cranes – a buoyant and heartfelt blend of endearing anti-folk and impassioned bedroom-rock into a tasteful indie-post-punk package.
A sprawling, beguiling and yet at the same time elegantly simplistic soundscape of piano arpeggios, boxy guitar tones and brass hums over driving drums, ‘cranes’ displays the band’s raw yet accomplished sonic approach comparable to Black Country New Road and Man/Woman/Chainsaw. Topped with the fast-paced, poetic storytelling of the lead vocals, the track’s whimsical tone is met with a playful sense of romance – like an off kilter, edgy theme for a yet to be released Richard Curtis rom-com.
Building on the delicate intimacy of their earlier work, the track progresses from its spacious opening to a sprawling, evocative climax, as the instrumentation gradually unravels from the lulling tempo to an intense wall of beautiful noise. Drums lose tempo, instrumentation slides into dissonance mirror a sense of emotions boiling over. Raw, yearning, and elegantly spacious, the track embraces a grand sense of emotion without losing the lo-fi, DIY nature of the band’s sound.
“This is one of our most precious songs,” says pianist/vocalist Peter Martin. “It’s about how the love for a person can help mend a relationship with a place, and vice versa. It’s also musically our most ambitious song yet; the outro, especially, is something we’re very proud of. It is a good statement of how the band will sonically sound moving forward, marrying together the softer elements of our first two songs, with a stronger and grander tone.”
In just a year, casual smart have carved out an impressive presence, from sold-out shows at Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach to support slots with Porridge Radio and appearances at Sŵn and Green Man festivals, as well as acclaim across tastemaker press. With cranes, casual smart display a rousing sense of ambition that highlights them as one to watch.
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All words by Simon Lucas-Hughes. More writing by Simon Lucas-Hughes can be found at his author’s archive.
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