The Band: THE CROOKES
The Record: ‘DREAMS OF ANOTHER DAY’ EP
The Format: COMPACT DISC & DOWNLOAD
The Catalogue Number: NONG 66CD
The Record Company: fierce panda
The Release Date: SEPTEMBER 27TH 2010
The Tracklisting:
1.‘BACKSTREET LOVERS’
2.‘SOMEWHERE OVER THE BUS STOP’
3.‘YES, YES, WE’RE MAGICIANS’
4.‘A COLLIER’S WIFE’
5.‘TWO DRIFTERS’ (ft Little Glitches)
6.‘MORE BLITZ THAN RITZ’
7.‘BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN’
8.‘MRS PORTER’ (secret track)

Ahead of their long-awaited, full-length album, Sheffield’s premier indie pop romantics The Crookes are set to release a 7-track EP on independent haven Fierce Panda. Titled Dreams Of Another Day, it’s a release that ties together a handful of older songs from the band’s past, many of which haven’t seen the light of day and all of which are being put to rest here. It’s a sweeping clean of the board before The Crookes set out to make their defining debut, a way to give these songs the space they deserve before the band sets off in pursuit of the new.

“This collection of songs serves as a fitting eulogy for a stage that we have left behind,” they say. “Two years ago we had no idea what we wanted to be or sound like – we just wanted to play and impress our mates. That hasn't completely changed, but we hope we're beginning to embrace something closely approximating a distinctive sound. That’s for the album though. For now, the EP is a celebration of our heady and shambolic youth!”

But behind each track, something flows much deeper. The Crookes are a band of readers, thinkers and doers in the classic DIY tradition, which is why you’ll find an Evelyn Waugh quotation on the back of the EP encapsulating the spirit behind this collection of perfectly crafted melodies and meticulous lyrics.

Opening track Backstreet Lovers is the EP’s lead single. The first song the band ever wrote together, it’s a jaunty piece of urchin pop that – it soon becomes evident – is really just one side of The Crookes’ coin. Listen to the heartbreaking More Blitz than Ritz, or the plaintive, winsome cover of Richard Hawley’s Born Under A Bad Sign for proof (the fellas have further cemented their working relationship with the songwriter on recent collaborative sessions for Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley’s BBC Radio 1 Evening Session special). The quieter songs on this EP were recorded at home by the band using primitive recording equipment, including George singing into a wellington boot in the cellar to create natural reverb!

Despite having only been on the scene a couple of years, The Crookes have built up a phenomenal back catalogue of songs, meaning picking just seven tracks for the EP was a tricky choice. “It took a long time for us to decide,” they say. “Once we’d come up with the concept there were arguments about not only which tracks to put on it but also which version. It was both a pleasantly nostalgic and heartbreaking experience – to revisit the stories and themes and characters of another time inevitably floods you with a wealth of emotion. It puts you in a forgotten place and reintroduces you to the people they were written about.”

Comprising George Waite (bass/vocals), Alex Saunders (lead guitar), Daniel Hopewell (rhythm guitar) and Russell Bates (drums), The Crookes met and formed at Sheffield University, where they studied literature, an influence that not only resonates in Daniel's lyrics, but in their overall mentality to being in a band. They cite Kerouac’s ‘On The Road’ as a handbook to their relentless touring throughout the past year as they lay their foundations by gathering a large fan base known as the Bright Young Things.

JULY 27TH HARROGATE Fringe Festival
JULY 31ST CUMBRIA Kendal Calling Festival
AUGUST 13TH LEICESTER Summer Sundae Weekender
AUGUST 19TH LONDON Bull & Gate Steve Lamacq presents…Going Deaf For A Living
AUGUST 20TH MANCHESTER Moho Live
AUGUST 21ST BARNSLEY M-Fest
AUGUST 22ND STAFFORDSHIRE Just So Festival
AUGUST 27TH LEEDS FESTIVAL – Festival Republic Stage
AUGUST 28TH READING FESTIVAL – Festival Republic Stage

www.myspace.com/thecrookesmusic