Summer Flake: Hello Friends

Hello Friends is exactly as Crase’s band name suggests: summertime in soft focus. There is a creeping warmth in the music, in the ebb and flow of the rolling harmonies, and in a rhythm section drenched with sunlight that gives way to some truly scorching guitar riffs.

Standout track ‘So Long’ is just one of many epic slow-burners on the album, appearing deceptively subdued and introspective through its steamy vocal harmonies – that is, until those searing guitars kick in to light the darkness. ‘Satellite’ is also a noteworthy number; a jaunty, poppy tune in comparison to the rest of the album. Impassioned whispers of “Wake me up / Kill me now” have never sounded sweeter, and intersected by pretty, chiming guitar, they express a deeper meaning within the usual pop song sensibility.

At once smooth, airy, bright and crackling, Hello Friends shows an artist that has her sound buried in something darker than those beautiful harmonies would first suggest, and this makes for some incredibly powerful rock’n’roll.