With a debut album and a devoted fanbase following them along the way, 2023 Hype List alumni CRAWLERS are ready to make 2024 their own.

Words: Ali Shutler.
Photos: Derek Bremner.

"We've already had so much success without releasing an album that there is this huge pressure around 'The Mess We Seem To Make'," starts Crawlers vocalist Holly Minto. "People keep telling us that as soon as we release it, things will really start for us, but what the fuck have we been doing this whole time then?" she continues with a smirk.

Taking the explosive theatrics that have made Crawlers such a must-see live force over the past few years, the band's debut album now comes with a newfound sense of self as the once-self-described "silly eyeliner band" come into their own. It's a record that doesn't need to worry about chasing the latest trends in guitar music or fitting into a wider world 'cos people are undoubtedly going to flock to the one Crawlers have built.

"The nerves come from pride," Holly tells herself. "My feelings towards the album are very back and forth, but that's only because we care so much. We put our whole pussies into this record, and everything's going to change when it's released," she continues.

Crawlers formed in 2018, with guitarist Amy Woodall, bassist Liv Kettle and vocalist Holly playing their grunge-inspired rock'n'roll in whatever North East venue would have them. They developed a loyal following from the back of Amy's Fiat Punto, but the inclusion of drummer Harry Breen and the release of 'Come Over (Again)' in 2021 quickly changed the band's trajectory. The following year, they supported childhood heroes My Chemical Romance at Warrington's Victoria Park, played before Maneskin at the Montreux Jazz Festival and put in dominant showings everywhere from Reading & Leeds to Community and The Great Escape. A sold-out UK headline tour, a run of shows around North America and their 'Loud Without Noises' mixtape rounded out a year which Holly could only describe to Dork as "a bit silly". 2023 was more of the brilliant same, but that hasn't stopped Holly from feeling physically sick about the release of their debut album, occasionally checking in to see whether her old job at Nando's was still hiring.

"It's more anticipation for me," adds Liv. "I've enjoyed every single moment that has led us here. I'm excited to see where the album takes us next."

The first proper idea for 'The Mess We Seem To Make' was written in 2020 and became the shimmering 'Call It Love'. By the time it came to actually sit down and pull the record together last year, Crawlers had a "disgusting" stack of 190 demos to try and make sense of. "Which are the ones we really care about?" explains Liv of their process, with the resulting twelve tracks perhaps not the most obvious choices.

When they first started writing, the group were inspired by Smashing Pumpkins' 'Melon Collie And The Infinite Sadness', Pixies' 'Doolittle' and Nirvana's 'In Utero'. "Just these amazing 90s alternative bands that wrote these incredible songs and managed to dress them up while still maintaining a rawness," says Holly. That fuzzy rage can be felt across Crawlers' back catalogue and continued to shape what would become the album's prologue, angsty standalone singles 'Messiah' and 'That Time Of Year Always'.

But as the process continued and the band continued to chase that feeling of excitement, their influences broadened. Amy got more into production, with Yeah Yeah Yeahs an important touchstone, while the joyous fury of Boygenius' 'The Record' also inspired 'The Mess We Seem To Make'. There were times Crawlers had to tell their label to trust them, especially with the nu-metal meets Bjork-inspired 'Better If I Just Pretend', but the end result brings new colours and dynamics to the band's world without destroying anything that's come before. "We've really been allowed to spread our feelings on a page with this album," says Holly.

"The first song that we wrote that wasn't typical for us was 'Come Over (Again)', and that one did alright," grins Liv, with their breakout track currently sitting at well over 50 million streams. "We were really nervous about releasing it all those years ago, but we quickly realised that the excitement it made us feel was far more important. That energy has carried on through the mixtape and into this album. It might not be what people expect Crawlers to sound like, but that doesn't mean it isn't us."

"The point of 'Loud Without Noise' was that it felt like an actual mixtape. It wasn't coherent; it was just all our different influences on the same record. Sonically, a lot of the songs on the album are still really different," explains Holly, pointing at the Adele-esque ballad 'Golden Bridge' that sits neatly alongside the heavy 'Better If I Just Pretend'. "It all works together, though. We made sure it felt like the same world, and all our different influences help paint this collective vision," she adds. "Everything's elevated."

"We are just in a place now where we are a lot more comfortable with who we are as individuals and as a band. The album definitely screams that," says Liv. "There's this unspoken mantra now that we are okay with ourselves. We are who we are, and we're not going to apologise for that."

It's a far cry from the dark, furious and occasionally uncomfortable songs that Crawlers have shared in the past, with that shift happening over the course of creating the album.

"Originally, people wanted us to release an album after the EP, but I knew we weren't ready," says Holly. The band hadn't toured properly, they hadn't spent much time in the studio, and they were struggling with the demands of childhood dreams quickly becoming reality.

"I was in such a bad headspace," admits Holly. "There was this unspoken pressure to enjoy every moment, but really, a lot of it was me just sitting in my own feelings or having meltdowns because I'm neurodivergent, and I wasn't prepared for what touring would do to me." Trying to make sense of what was happening, Holly poured her fears into lyrics. "For the mixtape, I was basically exploiting my own feelings to make music because that's what had worked for us in the past," they explain. "But trauma doesn't create great art."

By contrast, 'The Mess We Seem To Make' offers reflections rather than reactions. "Most of these songs started out as an excuse to slate myself. I was able to sing the things I was scared of saying out loud, hidden behind the guise of poetry or hyperbole," explains Holly, who was able to talk about self-doubt, self-hate, drugs and sexual politics. "It was this naïve outpouring until it wasn't that naïve anymore."

"Because we'd become so known for our lyrics, I was writing things for the album to shock rather than using music to heal," says Holly, who was swiftly called out by her bandmates. "It's why being in a band is the best thing in the world," they add. "They can pull you out of the darkest places, and you never need to explain yourself because you're all in it together."

"With their help, I knew I had to dig a little deeper. I've changed so much over the past couple of years, and when we revisited the songs, I realised there was more to it than just simply owning up to how I view myself, my body and my relationships. It was more about being content in who I am and how I've been able to grow," says Holly, who believes the album now feels like a "well-rounded trip" that ends with the lush, self-referential 'Nightime Affair'.

"We always knew that song would be the album closer, but it just didn't have a resolve, which left everything feeling unfinished," explains Holly. She ended up rewriting the track to include lyrics like, "Can you kiss me, can you love me? I am worthy, and you don't deserve me", which were eventually sung by all four members of Crawlers. "I was bestowing myself the contentment of where I was in that moment in time. I was no longer yearning for something; I was fine with what I had," she explains. "It was this beautiful moment where I was stood around the microphone with the people that I trust the most, singing these words of self-affirmation. I really needed that," Holly continues, hoping the vulnerability sparks a similar sense of peace in the listener.

"All our songs offer us therapy," adds Liv. "There were plenty of times when Holly's lyrics had the entire room in floods of tears, but it still felt more hopeful than anything we've done before. Whatever we were talking about, there was this sense of positivity to it."

As much as 'The Mess We Seem To Make' is a reflection of Crawlers' increasing sense of camaraderie, the undeniable hope is also a reaction to how fervently their fanbase has responded to their music. "A lot of our songs have spoken about trauma or horrible experiences, and the fact so many young people relate to them is kinda heartbreaking," starts Holly.

"We were worried because of how many of our very dark songs resonate with very young people," continues Liv. "We felt like we needed to let them know that it doesn't stay dark forever. I know I've had moments with my own mental health where I think I'm never going to escape how low I feel, but it never lasts. There are always moments of pure joy to be found. As cliché as it sounds, it always gets better, and that's something all of us have learnt over the past few years. Wounds do heal, and we really wanted to shout about that with this record," she continues.

"That's why 'The Mess We Seem To Make' just made so much sense as the title," adds Holly. "You can make the sort of mess that doesn't seem like it's ever going to get fixed, but really, no mess is too much. For me, this album is about looking back at the worst moments in my life with hope, understanding and the support of my best friends."

Despite the expectations that come with a debut album, the only things Crawlers feel like they have to prove with 'The Mess We Seem To Make' are to themselves. "There was a moment where I started feeling anxious about how successful Billie Eilish's 'When We Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' and Olivia Rodrigo's 'Sour' were because they completely shattered every expectation of what a young, female-presenting artist could do, and there is this inherent competitiveness that comes from being in a non-male band, but my only competition is myself," says Holly, another lesson learnt in recent months.

Still, shortly after the band announced they'd be signing to Universal's Polydor Records, Holly read a comment that's been nagging them ever since. "Someone said that Crawlers were probably going to stop doing political music now, and I found that really harrowing. I know when an independent band signs with a major label, people assume they'll lose their edge, but the reason we did it is so we could afford to keep existing. We've still got total creative control." The different members of the band are allowed the space to explore different aspects of artistic expression, including fashion and visual media. "All that's changed is the angle of our politics," continues Holly. "I'd rather uplift educated people than play the role of the white saviour, but what I am very aware of is where I've stood with my sexuality and what happens when a working-class woman suddenly finds themselves in the entertainment industry, where drug use is normalised, and depression is exploited to create art. I think there's a lot of political conversations across this album that are the results of our lived experiences."