Their new release evokes the uncanny feeling of dropping into someone else’s lockdown-addled headspace for a brief and brilliant moment.
Words: Scott Rimington | Photo: Kirsten Allen
From the band name and song title, you could be forgiven for assuming that Krush Puppies are a group of barbaric monsters, but rest assured, we have it on good authority that they are animal lovers to the core. In fact, three of them met in the queue for Pets At Home on the Old Kent Road (surely a future English Heritage Blue Plaque site?)
Recorded during the hazy, bewildering days of Lockdown One, Slay The Dragon is about “transcending the monsters we’ve all had to endure,” and there is certainly a familiar sense of brooding claustrophobia in the production, from the hypnotic, pulsating drums and bass, to the sunken, distorted, medieval chant vocals which continue to swirl around your brain long after listening. These moodier elements are nicely offset by the impassioned, shouty choruses and the deliciously satisfying fuzz guitar lines that follow.
Clocking in at a mere 1 minute and 56 seconds, Slay The Dragon absolutely flies by, and it’s relatively short duration makes for an uncanny feeling of dropping into someone else’s lockdown-addled headspace for a brief moment, then snapping back to your own reality. However, this is by no means a negative experience. Krush Puppies sound like a band who are happy in each other’s company, and do a great job of showing that you can make music that is simultaneously joyous and vulnerable.
Catch them performing live at Studio 9294 on July 10th, then Peckham Audio on 8th September.
hardofhearingmagazine.com 