Our admiration for London distortion enthusiasts Crushed Beaks puts in in good company. The duo made countless ‘ones to watch for 2012‘ lists, having arrived seemingly fully formed, and seemingly from nowhere, with their debut single ‘Close-Ups’.
Now the band are finishing up their side of a split single with dour E3 glum-poppers Torches – a spectacularly entertaining band whose live shows seem akin to an exorcism. Torches have reinterpreted ‘Close-Ups’ entirely, rescaling it to stadium proportions. The lyrics, previously buried under reverb, become the centrepiece, looming over layers of lost-in-the-smoke backing vocals before the entire construction is cleaved apart by metallic guitar.
Crushed Beaks and Torches will be playing a Best Fit co-promoted show at London’s Power Lunches on 10 March, along with the fantastic I Ching. You can grab tickets for that here (which we recommend, because Power Lunches is tiny), and get more information here. Crushed Beaks’ side of the split single will be out soon.
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