In 2004 Oxford Press published a book entitled ‘Music Communication’. It was a collection of essays thread together that explored the relationship between music and the moving image. In the chapter co-written by Scott Lipscomb and David Tolchinsky, ‘The Role Of Music Communication In Cinema’, the key conclusion drawn is that “the listener is transformed from a hearing-only individual into a listener-viewer”. This simple but interesting idea is relevant when listening to, exploring and understanding the sonically intense whirlwind and distorted wall of reverberant sound that is Crushed Beaks’ debut album ‘Scatter’.

The group’s love of Horror films, especially those directed by Dario Argento, is widely documented and informs both their music and videos. It’s one of the subtle ingredients that really sets them apart. They paint and present their own big twisted picture in HD, uninterested in the boxed off, drip-fed, perfectly packaged and marketed-to-death guitar music that’s often forced upon us. ‘Scatter’ is a real, visceral, gut punching collection of songs.

Prior to ‘Scatter’, Crushed Beaks were a no-thrills, stripped back two-piece, but now Matthew Poile (Guitar, Vox) and Alex Morris (Drums) are joined by bassist Scott Bowley, fleshing out the live and sound and allowing the band to faithfully recreate the intensity and depth captured on the album. Written in a gloomy basement where they rehearse in Shoreditch, the recording took place in a studio owned by Fabio Frizzi in Rome. A film composer best known for his work with Lucio Fulci and the soundtracks for City of the Living Dead and The Beyond, Frizzi met the boys at a Halloween show and invited them over to record. Their love and appreciation of Horror bleeds into their creative process as well as their music. It makes for an intense, action packed ride.

Lead single ‘Rising Sign’ teases then bursts forward, “The more I think about, the less I care” Poile shouts and slurs, strummer-esque in delivery and attitude. ‘Overgrown’ is one of the melodic stand-outs, exemplifying just how far the band have come since their early, grit-ridden recordings. Tub-thumbing ‘Grim’ bounces and pounces, driving forward and bursting with that unrelenting energy that made us fall in love with Crushed Beaks in the first place. It’s a no holds bar assault, and one you’ll want to relive time and time again.