Album Review: Lavotchkin/Crocus - Split EP

If you like speedy, hard-hitting hardcore then this split EP from Lavotchkin/Crocus will be right up your ally.

Lavotchkin start off the proceedings with 'You Were Dawn', an energetic, fast-paced ruckus that definitely wakes you up. Next the Newcastle-based band show their more structured side with 'Abandon' with its sluggish guitars weaving through in the background over screaming vocals and earch shattering drums. They finish their side of the split with 'Clouds', a track that speeds through at a blistering pace and at the same time, sounds epic.

Falmouth's Crocus are more complex in their approach, 'A Spirtual Polemic' starts off with a simple bass line before easing itself into a complete mess but at the same time it is structured. 'Ignorance We Swallow' shows the bands technical side; one second they're speeding through at a furious pace then suddenly slowing things down momentarily, before once again turning up the volume. 'Fear of Water' finishes off the EP with 1 and 40 seconds of aggressive, adrenaline filled hardcore.

At just 17 minutes long, you are left with wanting to hear more from both bands. The combination of the hard hitting Lavotchkin and the complexness of Crocus, works well and flows with ease together.

4/5

'Split EP' by Lavotchkin/Crocus is released on Small Town Records/We Have Heart Records on June 29th.

UK Tour dates together:

24 Jul The Birds Nest, Deptford, London
25 Jul Zak’s Basement, London
26 Jul The Hobgoblin, Brighton
27 Jul The Edge Of Wedge, Portsmouth
28 Jul The Retro Bar, Manchester
29 Jul The Criterion, Leicester
30 Jul The Packhorse, Leeds
31 Jul The Ringside, Hull
1 Aug Campus, Sunderland

More Information on can be found at the links below:
Lavotchkin Myspace
Crocus Myspace
Small Town Records website
We Have Heart Records Website

Sean Reid