Crawlers and their burning ambition are taken for granted, and Messiah sets in place a soul-searching start to their latest run of material. Moving away from the wall of sound experience of their first few tracks, Crawlers find themselves dealing with some brief flutters of imposter syndrome on latest track, Messiah. Holly Minto, striking through with powerful vocal intent as ever, leads the charge against borrowing pills and attempting to feel some sense of thrill in the face of insecurities and self-hatred. The line between walking God and anxiety-ridden terror is walked and blurred, finely done with this latest release from the Liverpudlian four-piece.
Relatable intimacies are harder to come by now the late-night experiences of dancing and drinking are replaced with paying rent on time and making sure to cook chicken all the way through. Messiah brings about those flutters of life past the age of 23, a number and age which does not feel old but is a remarkable step toward contemplating civility. Reject it though and take on Messiah, a last gasp at carefree youth and indecision, when it was acceptable to live in the jittering, stalling lane of not knowing what to do. Minto and the rest of these talented musicians provide a lyrical masterstroke, and with it, Messiah becomes their best song. Prettier than the divine, yet still paying for friends to occupy the mind and soul. It hits a little close to home and for those needing those late-night worries to take over completely, Messiah is a burning fuse for fear of failure.
Of course, it comes through much stronger thanks to the talented efforts of guitarist Amy Woodall, whose rise and fall, the wrap of her chords around the lyrics of growing independence are a pure and strong collision. Seeing past the third parties and their influences, the need to see the sadder side and the rising realisation which comes in the latter moments of Messiah is the ultimate good and pure message lingering throughout. Reaching this conclusion, this acceptance of “that time of year”, brings about a purity of classic rock blurred into the harsher tides of the indie music scene. Crawlers are right at the core of this push and rightly so, a talented four-piece who can turn one-word interjections into the powerful tortures which play on the mind of millions.
For those lucky enough to hear it then, Messiah is a powerhouse of a track which further cements the need for indie music to take a leap into the dark and come out looking rough. Crawlers are pushing through, a consistency behind them which lends itself totally to this cultivation of their broader ideas. They are not streamlining but doubling down on what works for them, switching out bits and pieces which feel out of place now they are learning the ropes more and more. At their core, Crawlers are unchanged, but the slight and continued improvements, which can be heard throughout Messiah, are a real joy to experience, and a real shot of immediacy for those living alone, worried about the perception of others and still struggling to cook meals which do not use pasta.
