Crain - Speed...

I didn’t hear much of Crain until sometime after they had disbanded. My first exposure to the band was kind of odd, hearing their album Heater before anything else a few years ago. Their first album Speed had eluded me since it only had an original pressing of 1000 copies back when it was released in 1992. However, a couple years ago Temporary Residence really came through and put out a very fine CD reissue of the album. To some it was long overdue I am sure, however for many the album was merely something they had heard a lot of praise about or possibly something they had never heard of at all.

Spawned out of Louisville, Kentucky Crain was formed in the 1989 and went through a number of lineup changes before the band would call it quits in 1996. In between that period of time they released a number of 7 inches and a couple albums. Their sound was an early incarnation of sorts to the whole math-rock/post-rock scene that eventually catapulted bands like Slint and Rodan. However with Speeds initial limited release, it left the band with little to no exposure and they were sort of left in the dust. It’s really too bad, as it’s evident through the remastered recording of Speed that the band was as equally gifted as the aforementioned bands. However, with the reissue at least it gives the band a bit of well deserved credit for contributing to a scene that would prove to be pretty important.

The thing I really enjoy about Crain, as a whole, is that their sound was a great combination of different styles. They were much more frenetic and meatier than a lot of the bands that would later surface out of the math-rock crop.

Crain – Proposed Production [MP3]
Crain – Ten Miles of Fiction [MP3]

To those that have never heard Crain, do yourself a favor and pick up the reissue of Speed over at Temporary Residence. Not only is it an amazing album, it’s also a great sounding one as well.