‘The Ick’ by Crying Loser
Ah! Bandcamp to the rescue yet again. This time through their Substack. One of their free features to subscribers is called ‘Cool Band Alert’. It was thanks to one of these alerts that I discovered Crying Loser out of Cork, Ireland and their album ‘The Ick’ (Trapped Animal Records 2026). This is chaotic art rock at it’s finest.
Frenzied, high energy music skating between order and chaos. As if The Fall blew a gasket, Morphine threw a tantrum, Sonic Youth flew straight. It’s punk ethos meets DIY noise aesthetic in a garage. There’s intense emotion and quirky humor throughout this lo-fi assault. Dissonance, distortion, and a solid backbeat. Vocals vacillate between beat poetry and primal scream. Picture Mark E. Smith meets Tom Waits.
The opening track ‘Do The Jerk’ smacks you with a raw intensity right from the start. Vocals screaming through a spring reverb give a psychobilly feel. The spastic syncopation hits hard and makes you want to move despite the risk of a twisted ankle. The tension of the bass clarinet is an odd addition that just simply works. Born from improvisational jams, each track is abrasive, hectic, and riding a wave of psychedelic groove.
On the track ‘Bad Haircut’, a girl describes what it means to be punk. More specifically how she’s not punk. Only to realize that saying you’re not punk is more punk than saying you are and her whole argument falls apart. She likes to think of herself simply as a rock chick. And that’s actually a good analogy of Crying Loser’s music. Call it whatever you like but to me this is the pure essence of rock n roll. Rebellious at its core and distinctively original.
“A raw byproduct of abrasive, frenzied and hypnotic energy, looking to scratch the miserable itch of life at the bottom of the barrel.” – Bandcamp
‘The Ick’ is available on Bandcamp. If you’re into being challenged by daring, chaotic art rock, then you should give this a listen.
Cheers!
Stephen
