Back in 2009 CRAZY ARM released debut album, ‘Born To Ruin’. That record well and truly set the band’s stall out. Whilst the preceding E.P. (2007’s ‘Cross Country’) had introduced the band’s somewhat unique take on punk, rock, folk, and country, the album proved more polished, intricate, and, well, big. It was a sound that captured the raw intensity and staunch ethos of Crazy Arm perfectly.
Two years later, following a fair amount of press coverage and radio play, not to mention a handful of high-profile support slots and tours, the Plymouth rabble returns with sophomore effort, ‘Union City Breath’. This 13-track volume picks up where the previous album left off, only this time it’s heading for even more dizzying heights. Those expecting any second-album hiccups won’t find them here.
Again nomadically roaming the grounds between folk and country, ‘Union City Breath’ finds Crazy Arm picking and choosing from a range of styles to generate a wholly organic sound. The punk rock ethics that have always underlined the band are free for all to hear, whilst sonically the band venture further on this release than any before it.
‘City and Western’ (which valiantly makes a stab at being the stand-out track) has a touch of bluegrass to it, whilst ‘Charnel House Blues’ plays acoustically in the realms of haunted 17th Century love ballad, not least for its ethereal violin and the guest vocals of Victoria Butterfield. In fact, Butterfield turns up on a handful of these tracks, each time adding a further depth of layering to the songs on offer.
Lyrically, the roots of protest take up a stronghold within each song. Disenfranchisement, alienation, inequality, and anger resonate throughout. “I don’t want to live in a fucked up world / Where morality is lost to the laws of hate / Where the making of a woman is lack of shame / The making of a man is his lack of guilt” sings Darren Johns on ‘Tribes’, the record’s lead single. Add in some anti-fascist and anti-war themes and you get the idea.
Ultimately, album number two is more than a solid offering, serving up a heady dose of instrumentation and lyrics awash with a cutting social commentary. The sounds of the rolling west securely sit beside energy-laden hooks and acoustic charm. In short, ‘Union City Breath’ is a triumph from start to finish.
ALEX HAMBLETON