Album Review: Crashed Out - "Against All Odds"

 

Veterans of the north east punk scene, Crashed Out have been mainstays of Britpunk for nearly three decades now and your correspondent remembers seeing them many times at the Wasted punk festival in Morecambe (Rebellion's predecessor) in the mid-noughties when they always used to be good value for money with their ferocious take-no-prisoners approach similar to fellow north easterners the Angelic Upstarts.

Happy to report that time hasn't blunted them either as opening track Against All Odds steams in with a big shoutalong SLF style chorus and the anti-London tirade Urban Zoo does likewise and you can see it working well in a live environment. Sure, Crashed Out aren't really doing anything that you won't have heard before but when you consider how many poor mans' versions of this formula we've seen in recent years (Booze & Glory anyone?), it's good to see bands like these guys and the Bar Stool Preachers who've still got the nous to nail it properly.

The hits keep coming thick and fast here from the Ruts style fury of Warchild and Four Words through the shoutalong In The City to the gentle acoustics of The Chancer (although they can't resist kicking it back up to breakneck tempo after the first verse). If there's a slight complaint to be made here it's that Against All Odds is maybe a bit long at 16 tracks making it a difficult one to digest in one sitting but at least Crashed Out keep the quality high throughout here with Wor Geordie dipping a toe into reggae and the doomy ode to a World War I soldier The Coat being a suitably atmospheric closer (although the attempt at punk-rap on Hypocrisy is a brave attempt that ultimately just ends up a bit of a mess) and it's certainly an album you'll be able to pick straight back up from where you left it.

It's an oft-quoted phrase, especially with punk rock, that if the formula ain't broke then don't fix it and that very much applies to Crashed Out here. They may be about as straightforward as they come but there's something enjoyable about the unpretentiousness and straight-up power of Against All Odds. Definitely well worth a look for those who enjoy this sort of music.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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