It was cold outside and the bouncer seemed friendlier than usual as Manchester-based shoegazers cruush traipsed upstairs with me to the YES greenroom. After equal distribution of San Miguels between Charlie, Fotis, and Arthur on a settee, and a mid-price white wine for singer and lyricist Amber Warren, sitting at their side on a foldable pink chair, the group were ready to talk.
cruush formed during their time at BIMM, an origin story told through slightly gritted teeth as they recalled that fateful night at ‘Rebellion’, a freshers event for those appreciative of metal music (the group seemed humorously ashamed of this setting). Guitarist Arthur, on the night sporting a Cribs shirt, spotted Amber from across the bar, wearing a Ben Howard shirt (a little more embarrassed laughter when asked to explain who Ben Howard was), and the pair struck up a conversation. What followed was a scene all too familiar to Manchester music bars: boy meets girl, boy compliments girl’s band tee, boy and girl form an alternative rock band.
When asked if she was a sad person, lyricist Amber smiled and answered with an honest “yes”
Speaking of ‘alternative rock’, cruush seemed unsure of just how to define their specific genre, with a few definitions being banded around from different sides of the sofa. They managed to settle on a rather poetic suggestion from Amber: “Moongaze,” uplifting shoegaze.
“Moongaze” really did seem to fit, speaking of hopes that their music conveyed a sense of old meeting new, of deep sadness mixed with euphoria, and, crucially, the fact that there is always something hopeful in sad music. When asked if she was a sad person, lyricist Amber smiled and answered with an honest “yes.” Shoegaze runs in the blood.
cruush come across as a group of extremely talented musicians, and indeed very knowledgeable musos. After recognition of my ‘Blue Monday’ t-shirt, and a debrief about the single’s production costs from Charlie, time was up for cruush to tell, and now time to show.
Following spirited support from Shaking Hand and Umarells, cruush tuned up. Foot pedals were stomped, instruments waved in front of amplifiers, and a solid wall of feedback crashed into the packed-out basement audience, testing eardrums and silencing any conversation. A woozy layer of distortion was added to every note played, yet never overshadowed the impressive individual musicianship that was on show. The evening kicked off with ‘Stick in the Mud’, a story of a painful friendship breakup.
cruush’s live performances are magically hard to follow. Stare as you might at guitars and hands, listening for recognisable chords or notes which might match what you see in front of you, none of it ever seems to make sense.
Perhaps this is thanks to the three immense pedal boards stationed by their feet. Or the unusual tunings (scrawled across setlists) of Telecasters and Jazzmasters. Or the layers of smoke released from the sides of the stage which gradually enveloped the band in a strobing haze of mist and light. Or perhaps a combination of all of this.
For much of the gig it was hard to pin down just where exactly, or from whom, all the sound was coming from. The crowd, for their part, seemed mesmerised by this, perfectly content to just relax and watch, allowing cruush to simply wash over them.
It became increasingly difficult to tell when one song ends and another begins, with the whole performance seemingly bleeding into one, becoming more of a musical experience than a collection of individual tracks. The only way to mark the passing of time, it seemed, was to watch for the occasional changes of guitars and capos at the end, or sometimes in the middle of songs, and the degree to which the singer’s lipstick smudged against the microphone as the gig went on.
cruush mentioned a long list of influences to their style: Slowdive, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Pavement. A fine list to choose from. Their influence from shoegaze heritage was very much lived up to, with a sound at times similar to the Cocteau Twins, insofar as it could be difficult to make out what exactly was being said and sung under the blanket of sound that they produce.
It seemed to me though, that this really didn’t matter, and that the music and general timbre of the singing, at times soft and haunting, at times screeching, communicated the intended message and emotion of the songs perfectly, without any real need to follow the words too closely. The feeling of the music, to all those in attendance, was obvious.
Throughout the gig, however, through thrashing guitars and pounding drums, was the suggestion that cruush are not a band to be pigeon-holed. Despite guitarist Arthur telling The Mancunion that the thing he likes to see most at gigs is his feet (which he assured the band and I was a shoegaze joke), there is certainly something about the group that separates them from their influences. An urgency, a clarity of message, perhaps, different from the often lazy, meandering musical styles of, say, Slowdive.
Maybe it’s because the music and lyrics are often produced separately with this group. But where traditional shoegaze seems happy to revel in music itself, and delve into indulgent instrumental exploration, cruush seem prepared to do this, but in order to get a message across.
This sense that the group are not pure-bred shoegazers is clear in the final song of the evening, an unreleased track that, while not exactly ‘Dylan goes electric’, is certainly a departure from their style up to this point. The track signalled a move to a slightly more rock-y, punchier avenue of musical creativity, an area which the four pedalboardists seemed more than equipped to take on.
cruush played the sold-out basement for just under an hour. They provided something of a cathartic experience, exploring melancholic themes with melancholy music, but through which flowed a clear stream of optimism and, somehow, a sense of being uplifted. The punters in attendance were held in a trance for much of the evening, absorbed in a musical style so layered, so immersive, that it is easy to forget that you’re listening to a band, and simply allow yourself to float away with them.
cruush are expecting to release their latest single later this month – so keep your eyes peeled.
