Album of The Week: Strange Creatures — Drenge
Read Emily Claypole’s thoughts on the third studio album by English three-piece punk rock/grunge band Drenge.
It’s not often that a small garage rock band are endorsed by a Labour MP in their public resignation letter— a situation that English duo Drenge found themselves facing back in 2013 which kickstarting their appearance in the media spotlight. Two albums later, Eoin and Rory Loveless are back with Strange Creatures and their first UK tour in two years, citing their new work as a “psychological horror movie on wax”.
The album opens fiercely with ‘Bonfire of the City Boys’, an intense narration of a late-night escapade gone-awry: “It started with a bang, smoke spilled out of the door/And sparks skipped across the pavement”. The absence of a chorus intensifies the foreboding nature of this track, leading the listener on a dark journey through metaphors and personification as the narrator escapes whatever trouble they have caused. The song ends with a chilling cacophony of heavy instrumentals and the repetition of “bonfire of the city boys” before an abrupt finale, leaving the listener questioning the fate of the protagonist.
Although ‘Autonomy’ is an instrumentally lighter track with more structured lyrics, they are equally as dark as the opening track and feature similar strong punk vocals from Eoin. The alien-like introduction to the song, combined with the striking riff, provides a fitting background to the technology theme: “Do androids dream of electric sheep?/Or do they dream of being naked in public, and missing teeth?”.
The titular track is bass-centric and almost blues-y — a distinctive change of pace for the album. The unsettling eeriness of the instrumentals alongside the uniform chanting of “Ha” creates a track that wouldn’t be out of place on the soundtrack to a Stephen King adaptation.
‘Never See the Signs’ is one of the album’s shorter tracks, sitting one second shy of three minutes. The monotonous vocals and 80’s synths juxtapose the distressing chorus of “It’s so serious in here/It’s so claustrophobic/Get me out of here”. The theme of the past is recurrent throughout this album, perhaps influencing the 80’s themed instrumentals that feature on most of the track list.
The distorted ‘Avalanches’ is a mix of grungy riffs and punchy synths with muffled vocals from Eoin. This track is less aggressive in its deliverance, providing the listener with a more mellow, dream-like experience of the band’s recurring post-punk vibe.
Strange Creatures closes with ‘When I Look Into Your Eyes’, an acoustic guitar led blues/rock hybrid that almost seems incongruent amongst the heavier tracks featured on the album. Social commentary is replaced with lyrics about love and, although not a typical love song, provides a heart-warming and relatable addition to the album. The song is a peaceful, if not misplaced, conclusion to a heavy but engaging album.
Whilst long-time fans have suggested that Strange Creatures isn’t as raw as Drenge’s earlier releases, it has been praised by the likes of NME as being “audacious and gratifying”. The progression of their sound as the album advances, as well as their transcendence of several genres displays a clear talent and their work provides a unique addition to the contemporary music scene.
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