THE CRUNCH All-star power-pop rock act release debut album ‘Busy Making Noise’ via Legal Records on 28th October

Sulo – vocals     Mick Geggus – guitar     Dave Tregunna  – bass     Terry Chimes – drums

“I’ve really got no choice / I’m busy making noise with the boys”, sings Sulo Karlsson on ‘Busy Making Noise’, the title track from The Crunch‘s debut album.  Packing a punchy hook, that enters your head in an instant and takes an eternity to shift, the album opener offers a succinct, three minute summary of what The Crunch are all about.  Sulo is not so much setting things up with a statement of intent here, as stating the facts of the group’s almost unintentional, entirely spontaneous formation; a musical ’big bang’ moment that arrived disguised as a casual jam session and unleashed the torrent of creative energy captured in ‘Busy Making Noise’.

In the beginning, former Diamond Dogs vocalist Sulo and his boys – bassist Dave Tregunna (Sham 69, Lords of the New Church), guitarist Mick Geggus (Cockney Rejects) and drummer Terry Chimes (The Clash, Black Sabbath, Hanoi Rocks) – joined forces for one night only.  When the four first got together late last year for the purpose of playing few numbers at a Stockholm book launch, none of them was looking for a new project, yet all of them recognized an intense musical chemistry, and all had enough hard-won experience behind them to realize that was too rare a thing to waste.

In short, they had no choice but to get busy capturing that spark in the studio.  And The Crunch have been very busy.  A first trip at London’s Berry Street Studios in early 2013 initiated an unstoppable creative roll and further sessions were soon booked, as the songs organically flowed, and the project fast evolved into a fully-fledged, fully-committed four piece band.  Having whetted listeners’ appetites with June’s 7 inch single ‘Down By The Border / Gangster Radio’, where they set out stall by serving a couple ultra-catchy, short, sharp slices of punky power-pop, The Crunch now share the full fruits of their labours on October 28th, when ‘Busy Making Noise’ is released through Legal Records, on CD, LP and download.

Packing 14 tracks into 40 minutes, the record is a filler-free first outing that strongly reflects the free-flowing, fast-paced creative process that forged it.  Second single ‘Fire Again’ marches in urgently to the machine-gun pace of Terry’s precise drumming, reinforcing the 7 inch’s suggestion The Crunch stand amongst the rare few acts able to do the deceptively simple business of straight-up, Ramones-y punk ‘n’ roll, and imbue it with truly infectious exuberance and energy.  Released as a download on October 14th, the single gives a nod to the decades of collective experience that make The Crunch such masters of their craft as Dave and Terry’s old Cherry Bombz bandmate Anita Chellemah provides backing vocals, while on ‘Runaway Son’ Mick‘s Cockney Rejects brother-in-arms Jeff Turner makes a guest appearance.  However, it’s that fresh energy, and a sense of excitement and fun, which emerge as real hallmarks of the present band‘s sound over the course of ‘Busy Making Noise’.

On the anthemic ‘Yesterday’s Boys and Girls’, Sulo delivers a star performance channelling more than a touch of Ian Hunter, as Mick’s rich guitar melodies intertwine with piano parts at the track‘s soaring peak.  Sulo then shares the spotlight with regular collaborator Idde Schultz (seen augmenting The Crunch’s sound on keys and backing vocals at their London live debut in June) for bantering break-up ballad ‘A Little Bit of Grace’.  A vocal duet/duel which traces the fine line between love and hate, the song’s story is evocatively reflected in its form, as a chorus full of irresistible harmonies contrasts with the sharp ‘n’ snappy retorts Sulo and Idde trade in the verse.

The Crunch then ease off the accelerator for pulsing slow-builder ‘Remember Me Like That’, creating a moment of suspense to keep listeners guessing at the album’s mid-point.  Few might foresee the reggae rhythms which then follow on ‘A Matter of Time’; a musing on the way rock ‘n’ roll repeats itself in the modern age of retro fashions, where Sulo unapologetically declares his love for plain, classic songwriting from then and now, and implores “you’ve got the keys, so be righteous and true”.  If The Crunch do offer a statement of intent anywhere on ‘Busy Making Noise’, this could be it.  Eager to assert themselves as neither a supergroup nor a side-project, and refusing to either trade on nostalgia or contrive new tricks for their own sake, the quartet are driven by a shared passion for playing, and enjoyment of timeless rock ‘n’ roll tunes.  ‘Busy Making Noise’ relentlessly delivers those unforgettable three minute pop hooks, and the fun these seasoned rockers are having playing them shines off the album.

A full UK tour is now planned for January 2014, and also in the pipeline is an English translation of Sulo and Peter Karlsson’s anthology of interviews with 70s rock icons, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ – the book that inadvertently started it all by bringing The Crunch together at its launch party.

“superpower power-pop” – Record Collector
“rip-snorting power pop with a loud punk rock edge” – Uber Rock
“The Crunch astounded with this preview of their debut album” – Vive le Rock
“These seasoned musicians sound revitalized and hungry … this is post punk rock of the highest order” – Punk Globe

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