Krash
Devastation cassette
Saskatoon—actually a Cree word for a specific purple berry—is located right in the middle of Canada, and is apparently graced with a rather inclement climate that would make Warsaw feel like a Dominican resort (minus the obnoxious first-world tourists, though). D-beat fanatics KRASH are from this icy place. I was not familiar with this three-piece before being assigned this review, and I have to say they suit my exquisite tastes: intentionally unoriginal, pure D-beat raw punk orthodoxy for studded punks who dream of being able to wear a gas mask at work without being frowned upon. Given the style’s fundamentals, I cannot find any real flaw to this 2020 recording, the third in their oeuvre. The raw production highlights the primitive power of the songs, the singer has the perfect gruff tone and scansion, and the uncreative structural template of the raw early D-beat tradition is respected to a T (well, a D). KRASH is a very convincing example of this busy genre. They know exactly what to do and how to do it, and beside the canonical fast D-beat punk, there are a couple of ideal mid-paced, early DISCHARGE bouncers to freshen things up, too. With ten songs in eighteen minutes, Devastation feels more like a proper album, so it might sound a little redundant for those of us not addicted to the mighty D, but it will delight those who crave that shit and cannot get enough of “Warsystem” covers (covering SHITLICKERS is a rite of passage for any self-respecting D-beat band). Not unlike DISCHANGE, DISCARD, and the classic Saskatoon dis-band DECONTROL, if you need comparisons. Top-shelf.
