Hear Crown’s Moody, Shape-Shifting “Violence” (premiere)

Crown’s The End of All Things is a dark, moody affair that thwarts all expectations for the duo, comprised of David Husser (Y Front) and Stéphane Azam (live sound engineer for Alcest). Ahead of its release, the new album has been deemed the duo’s Kid A, an unexpected turn of musical events in the career of a band already known for thwarting expectations. There are, of course, hints of industrial and metal sounds in the group’s DNA, even sounds that appeal to fans of shoegaze and post-rock but Crown remind us that the sound of surprise is not wholly limited to the firmament of jazz.

“Violence”, taken from the new LP gives us a view of this brief. Brooding and hard-hitting, the tune moves on a pendulum between triumph and defeat, keeping the listener guessing as to how the track will develop. Will it exploded in a triumphant chorus, fade into ashes of defeat, or continue to move this way and that, creating an experience that demands the listener engage again, uncovering the tune’s mysteries for themselves?

“Life is change; it’s the only thing we can always expect,” says Husser. “It’s the same with music. I personally feel offended when a band just regurgitates their own ideas and delivers a copy of the previous album, over and again… I want to take risks and let myself in for adventures and ventures into new territories, otherwise it wouldn’t be art anymore”.

The End of All Things is available for preorder on LP and CD via Pelagic Records and in digital format.