Tragedy Rocks

Crimea is a profoundly odd experience, like watching a schizophrenic man having a conversation with himself.
They’re a band who seem split in two – one half intent on making fairly average, mainstream American pop rock, the other half interested in what can best be described as, well, weird shit.
The latter comes from vocalist and songwriter Davey Macmanus, and one glance at the titles alone will set the agenda – ‘Lottery Winners On Acid’, ‘Girl Just Died’, ‘Miserabilist Tango’ and ‘Gazillions Of Miniature Violins’. The lyrics are even more bizarre, combining references to cricket and Guinness with tales of high school and Fred Flintstone.
Yet the music he puts to his words plays it a lot straighter, either through his own choice or, you suspect, record company ‘advice’. Indeed, this album sounds like the result of what happens when a major label gets hold of a really interesting band and panics.
In the end though, The Crimea just about win out, and tracks like ‘Baby Boom’ (apparently a John Peel fave) and the dark ‘Someone’s Crying’ suggest that there’s an interesting future for the band, wherever it may take them.