Review: Crawl – The Crockford Files

After two years of lying low, Toronto/Windsor, CA quartet Crawl has jumped back into the game with the release of their five song e.p., The Crockford Files. 2014 rang in the return of Crawl after an extended hiatus along with sporting a new front man in Michael David Wolf  as well as  releasing the raucous,  Anticipate the Fall . Out of the gates, The Crockford Files has found Crawl slowing down the tempos and shows a profound cohesion throughout. Opening track, “Mine”, comes out swinging with a definitive throw back feel in the vein of Alice in Chains. “Heavy Rains” is a groove laden track thats an  absolute head bobber with the rhythm section of Scott Clark – Bass & Tom Grondin – Drums, setting the tone and leading the pack. That is until mid-song when guitar player, Stuart Green takes the reins with a short yet impressive solo. I must admit that guitar solos are typically not my thing but the slickness of Greens abilities  pushes the feel of this song to new heights. On ‘Smother Mary’ (along with ‘Bangladesh’ which had originally appeared on the Crawl’s the release, Feed were re-arranged) is where Michael David Wolf’s vocals took center stage while showing substance and control. These days, Crawl may a bit grayer in the beard but The Crockford Files proves what four longtime musicians can create fromf passion and desire, not necessity and that’s a beautiful thing! -cooper-