Crows - Reason Enough

Good things come to those who wait and in the case of Londoners Crows, their third album is a cruising testament to what happens when ideas gestate. It's the tightest and broadest they've sounded, with punk sensibilities wrapping themselves around 'Reason Enough''s arena-ready post-punk propulsion.

Toting an Interpol swagger, compared to their last offering, 2022's 'Believers', Crows have undoubtedly grown, finding their way into more driven and purposeful territory. Vocalist James Cox often channels the commanding low tones of Ian Curtis, perfectly befitting the gloomier nature of the band this time around.

With most tracks written during a session at an abandoned Catholic Church, and the catharsis of working through being a band and generally alive in 2024, it's a full-bodied experience that kicks back at the state of the UK as well as the self, with 'Living On My Knees' one of 'Reason Enough's more punk-effacing cuts.

The title-track is a brooding monster, stalking its way through James' testimony of self-exploration with a wicked flick of despising what he finds before kicking straight into 'Bored', which hurriedly dispatches the inanity of life. As 'Reason Enough' progresses Crows come into their own, before 'D-Gent' salutes their third album with an epic farewell. Good things, indeed.