Crushed Out: Want To Give

Crushed Out
Want To Give
Cool Clear Water Records [2012]









Fire Note Says: Crushed Out’s debut Want To Give, gives what you want out of a garage blues duo!

Album Review:
Dear friends, onlookers, and listeners - I present to you what could be considered the missing link between The White Stripes and The Black Keys. Gaze in awe as New York gives us the garage duo that is Crushed Out (formerly Boom Chick). Featuring Frank Hoier taking the role of vocals and guitar and Moselle Spiller upon the drums. Crushed Out’s debut Want To Give presents a sound that’s chunky power cords, sinister surf fuzz, and a down to business blues ethic. Crushed Out takes what might be considered a time stale, overdone formula and injects new life into it. I feel the album title speaks for itself as this music is creatively birthed to give.

Opening with title track “Want To Give” a stomping, surf blues shuffle takes you by the ear and refuses to let go, it’s a structure that could immediately put a smile across the listeners’ face. Hoier rip roars with his finest Dan Auerbauch falsetto without sounding to familiar. “Temper Tantrum” careens at you with the force of a free-for-all, which might be a coincidence as the opening riff reminds me of Ted Nugent’s “Free-For-All”; this song is a blues slinging, strum stomper at its finest. “Weight You Down” seems to come at you with a tremolo drenched intensity of The Black Keys “Them Eyes”, its fun, playful bounciness makes for a quick rockin’ two minutes. “Sharkbite” opens up with a perfect stagger n stutter of a mock White Stripes guitar solo. As the track clamps down it takes the form of a fuzzy chug, surf gallop, while at points it erupts with the intensity of The Stripes “Let’s Build a Home”. “Push Down &Twist” makes the instructions on a pill bottle into a jaunty swing dance number with a wonderful tremolo solo included. “Miss Mouse” presents its finest try at a sinister swing number, music that brings forth the image of howling up at the full moon. It ranks up there with the finest sultry and dark blues tunes that are presented. The album then finishes up with “Country Star” a stripped down campfire, cowboy ballad that could make reference to all the greats, The Man In Black, Patsy Cline, The Coal Miners Daughter, Willie Nelson, and Dolly Parton. The idea that the album has built up so much energy over the nine tracks, as it’s a nice change of pace to coast to a stop, and it feels to end a solid progression.

As I’ve said in the beginning it easy for a genre to become tired or stale, a couple of years ago it was hard to look anywhere and not see a garage rock or garage blues influenced duo/band. But, Crushed Out seems to have found a way to stick with the familiar and keep it exciting and enticing. It adds a shake up with the surf influence, a pinch of raw grit for taste, and a chucky fuzz for texture. Crushed Out is going places and I hope that you follow them around for the journey!

Key Tracks: “Temper Tantrum”, “Sharkbite”, “Firelight”

Bands With Similar Fire:
The White Stripes
Seasick Steve
The Black Keys

Crushed Out Website
Crushed Out Facebook
Cool Clear Water Records

-Reviewed by Christopher Tahy