Less influenced by the Ramones or the Queers, as the title would suggest, The Crump are more straight-ahead, early punk in the vein of Elvis Costello mixed with mid-period Screeching Weasel (not as nasally as the early stuff and not as slow as the later stuff could be). It may not sound like a compliment, but it is: the Crump don’t have any clutter. Everything’s sparse, arranged so the notes aren’t slurred or tripping over one another, and their playing itself sweeps on through the songs immaculately, so subtleties you may not notice on the first couple of go-throughs really begin to sparkle on repeated listens. Great stuff from Japan.
–todd (Snuffy Smiles)