Wasteland by Crow People

If Crow People had formed down south in 1979, not in Doncaster five years later, they’d be fondly remembered as one of the great 'anarcho punk' bands, sitting proudly alongside original innovators like the Mob and Zounds. There are shades of PIL’s ‘Metal Box’ and dub in some of Mark’s early bass lines, echoes of a northern Mob, whilst Bill’s Here And Now and Buzzcocks influences shine through in the guitar lines. At times they evoke the heavy punk sounds of Killing Joke or Amebix before effortlessly slipping into a softer, haunting sound that wouldn’t be out of place on an early Cure album. Yet these are only fleeting reference points, they sound nothing like any of these bands.

Trying to pin down the Crow People sound is pointless, there’s nobody else quite like them. They defied categorisation and couldn’t give two fucks about playing the game. Just look at their decision to play only benefit gigs. Their free festivals were Hulme’s Punx Picnics, held amongst the sprawling, decaying crescents and the self-organised Two Trees Festival in hometown Doncaster.

Crow People did manage to play far and wide with a variety of bands, and maybe this was the strength of their defying of categorisation. They could happily sit on a bill next to Axegrinder, Chumbawamba, Disorder, Culture Shock or The Wedding Present and people in the audience would take to them. They fitted everywhere and nowhere.

This long overdue release contains nearly everything Crow People recorded in the studio from 1985 - 1994, consisting of their extremely rare and sought after 'Cloud Songs' 12" EP from 1987 and another twelve unreleased tracks.

At last, we’re righting an injustice, and one of the UK’s great 'lost' bands is getting the reissue treatment they deserve.