Jeffrey Lewis - 12 Crass Songs
Artist profile:
Jeffrey Lewis
Release Date: 01/10/07
Label: Rough Trade
Rating: ****
Crass. Well, they pretty much single-handedly invented anti-capitalist music and may well be the only punk band that remained untainted and true to their vision throughout their turbulent history. They played Benjamin Britten - inspired, freestyle hardcore that sounds as vicious and vibrant today as it did twenty (or more) years ago. They are among that elite group of bands whose underground reputation is absolutely pristine – a British Minor Threat if you will.
Jeffrey Lewis. A New York native, creator of hand-drawn comic books, purveyor of frantic acoustic anti-folk and owner of one of the sharpest wits ever committed to vinyl. He sings intricate, dense, poetic songs with subjects ranging from his favourite indie bands to the apocalypse, all in supremely individual style.
So where do these paths cross? How do we find ourselves listening to Lewis interpret, and sometimes reimagine 12 of the brightest shining gems of Crass’ back catalogue?
While their only obvious common ground is their shared adherence to utilising visual aids to enhance their live shows, there’s more than that superficial similarity going on here.
Hearing Lewis deal with the undiluted brutality of ‘System System’, ‘Gas man’, ‘Punk is Dead’ is something of a revelation. While Crass were around it was hard for people to understand how something that sounded so violent could hold content that was absolutely pro-unity, pro-peace and anti-hypocrisy. Lewis’ retellings allow those sentiments to shine bright without the assumptions that loud guitars and lo-fi recordings allow listeners to make.
So stripped back are these takes that it is the singularity of the lyric and the directness of the melody that are allowed to shine through unhindered.
‘End Result’, with it’s overpoweringly intelligent take on consumerism (‘I’m part of the race that kills for possession’) is allowed to be the poem it cries out to become, just as ‘Banned from the Roxy’ (‘Defence? Shit, It’s nothing less than war/ And no-one but the government knows what the fuck it’s for’) is transformed into a humorous, knowing slice of cynicism that cuts to the bone.
Crass were an utterly fantastic band, as Jeffrey Lewis is a great artist. This seemingly incongruous combination of seperate worlds pays off handsomely and rewards with astounding snatches of pure enlightenment.
James O’Connell
Jeffrey Lewis Myspace
Buy Jeffrey Lewis CDs | Buy Jeffrey Lewis mp3s | Buy Jeffrey Lewis Tickets | Buy Jeffrey Lewis Merch
Release Date: 01/10/07
Label: Rough Trade
Rating: ****
Crass. Well, they pretty much single-handedly invented anti-capitalist music and may well be the only punk band that remained untainted and true to their vision throughout their turbulent history. They played Benjamin Britten - inspired, freestyle hardcore that sounds as vicious and vibrant today as it did twenty (or more) years ago. They are among that elite group of bands whose underground reputation is absolutely pristine – a British Minor Threat if you will.
Jeffrey Lewis. A New York native, creator of hand-drawn comic books, purveyor of frantic acoustic anti-folk and owner of one of the sharpest wits ever committed to vinyl. He sings intricate, dense, poetic songs with subjects ranging from his favourite indie bands to the apocalypse, all in supremely individual style.
So where do these paths cross? How do we find ourselves listening to Lewis interpret, and sometimes reimagine 12 of the brightest shining gems of Crass’ back catalogue?
While their only obvious common ground is their shared adherence to utilising visual aids to enhance their live shows, there’s more than that superficial similarity going on here.
Hearing Lewis deal with the undiluted brutality of ‘System System’, ‘Gas man’, ‘Punk is Dead’ is something of a revelation. While Crass were around it was hard for people to understand how something that sounded so violent could hold content that was absolutely pro-unity, pro-peace and anti-hypocrisy. Lewis’ retellings allow those sentiments to shine bright without the assumptions that loud guitars and lo-fi recordings allow listeners to make.
So stripped back are these takes that it is the singularity of the lyric and the directness of the melody that are allowed to shine through unhindered.
‘End Result’, with it’s overpoweringly intelligent take on consumerism (‘I’m part of the race that kills for possession’) is allowed to be the poem it cries out to become, just as ‘Banned from the Roxy’ (‘Defence? Shit, It’s nothing less than war/ And no-one but the government knows what the fuck it’s for’) is transformed into a humorous, knowing slice of cynicism that cuts to the bone.
Crass were an utterly fantastic band, as Jeffrey Lewis is a great artist. This seemingly incongruous combination of seperate worlds pays off handsomely and rewards with astounding snatches of pure enlightenment.
James O’Connell
Jeffrey Lewis Myspace
Buy Jeffrey Lewis CDs | Buy Jeffrey Lewis mp3s | Buy Jeffrey Lewis Tickets | Buy Jeffrey Lewis Merch
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