The Horrible Crowes : Elsie :: Review
Taking a breather from The Gaslight Anthem, lead singer Brian Fallon has a side project that will undoubtedly blend into his main gig and reap further rewards. Fallon teamed up with his guitar tech Ian Perkins under the nom de plume, The Horrible Crowes for a set of tunes that are less bombastic than the Springsteenesque punk that he currently trades in. On The Horrible Crowes debut Elsie, Fallon and Perkins cited a mutual affection for the darker side of soul music epitomized by iconoclastic artists such as The Afghan Whigs, Tom Waits and PJ Harvey and opted to try their hands at something similar resulting in a singer-songwriter amalgamation that you could call Gaslight Light.
Elsie works best when The Horrible Crowes sink their teeth into an unrelenting groove as exemplified on the quietly anthemic “Sugar;” with its wafty organ and U2-ish bass line. “Behold the Hurricane” finds Fallon treading familiar territory and it seems that no matter how he tries, he can’t shake that familiar Gaslight sound. The reggae-like groove and semi-spoken word lyrics of “I Witnessed A Crime” indicate a direction that should be explored further. The rough-hewn “Go Tell Everybody” builds to an epic conclusion courtesy of backup singers and strings that at first feel heavy handed but that sensation quickly subsides as the guitar solo works things out. Followup “Cherry Blossoms” provides an able foil to the noisy workout that preceded it.
There’s some filler on Elsie in the form of both “Ladykiller” and “Crush” that drags things down to a halt until the bluesy crunch of “Mary Ann” nudges you from your slumber. The rousing soul of penultimate track “Blood Loss” effectively closes the album, as “I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together” ham-fistedly goes nowhere fast. Minor complaints aside, with the integration of Perkins into The Gaslight Anthem fold, things could prove to be a tad bit more interesting.
Rating: 
