January 18, 2008

Lupen Crook And The Murderbirds

Iscariot The Ladder

5 / 10 When ghoulish folk fiend Lupen Crook first crawled from the underworld he stalked alone on the brilliantly theatrical single ‘Halloween’, armed only with his shrill voice and an acoustic guitar. Then a faceless band of droogs almost ruined things as they helped spin together Crook’s debut album, ‘Accidents Occur Whilst Sleeping’. This time around the droogs are unmasked as The Murderbirds, but, as their presence indicates, Crook has clearly not learned his lesson. Teasing us, the opening ‘Cackle And The Crown’ begins with delicate string picking, but as distortion pedals are stomped, drums burst to a setting marked ‘pub-rock’ and rarely cease throughout. ‘Lucky Six’’s desire to turn into a mediocre Oasis bore halfway through is proof alone that Lupen Crook haunts best when he works alone.

Stuart Stubbs

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