Band: Crippled Black Phoenix
Release: (Mankind) A Crafty Ape (Album)
Release Date: Out Now
Crippled Black Phoenix are a supergroup formed from members of many bands including Mogwai and Iron Monkey, so you automatically assume that this is going to be a fantastic post-rock offering, you couldn’t be more wrong. Prog-rock is the name of the game for this band and they do it fantastically well.
‘(Mankind) The Crafty Ape‘ is very apparently a concept album and a very pleasing one at that. Comprised of three chapters that delicately provide the path for an epic story to unfold.
Chapter 1 is made up of the first 6 tracks on the album and from the get go the band lay on the progressive sound and ambiance with relish. Opening track ‘Nothing (We Are…)’ is laden with distorted, electronic vocals and huge sounding instrumentals which provides a quite delightful foundation for the rest of the album. ‘The Heart of Every Country’ is where the fun really begins, this track draws the listener in with such force that it’s positively irresistible, and at a stunning 10 mins in length provides you with everything you could possible need.
Chapter 2 carries on very much in the Prog vein and starts to step up a lot, ‘Release The Clowns’ being a prime example of the change in gear. The raw guitar is married perfectly with the ramping vocals culminating in an awesome emphatic close. ‘(What?)’ is a very jazzy affair and acts as a very apt interlude bridging chapters 2 and 3 together masterfully and is worlds apart from anything else offered on the album.
Chapter 3 is suitably dubbed ‘The Blues of Man’ and kicks off with a haunting blues riffs laced with cymbals before sliding flawlessly into a beautiful blues bass line interspersed with fantastic vocals. The stand out track in the final chapter is ‘Faced with Complete Failure, Utter Defiance Is the Only Response’ this is the final track on the album and is bordering on 15 minutes of pure musical bliss, the absence of lyrics on the song does nothing to take away from the sheer beauty of the track, it’s not surprising in the slightest that the album closed with an offering which formed a union of prog-rock and post-rock with such craftsmanship it’ll be unrivaled.
All in all this album is an absolute gem and with very little, if anything, detracting from the quality on offer. Giving this album a chance is a definite no brainer if you like prog-rock or post-rock and to be fair, even if you don’t.
Reviewer: Adam Frost
