“It goes from Tool-inspired baselines to piano ballads, to pop songs to folk music. It sounds like a bizarre and eclectic mix but we have made it work. Listen to the album and you will understand,” Harry Breen from the band Crawlers sits and chats to us about their debut album – The Mess We Seem To Make – and the band’s influences and the definition of success.
“Feeling a bit anxious but also very excited. It is so weird because we have been sat on this album for like, three or four months already just waiting for it to go out into the world for everyone to hear it,” Harry Breen, drummer of Merseyside rock four-piece – Crawlers – says the morning of their debut album release – The Mess We Seem To Make. Excitement levels are high as the initial album reviews roll in and Crawlers sit on revel on this piece of art they have finally unleashed into the world. He joins us on his own without the other members but fuels and feeds us with an in-depth and passionate insight into the creation of this debut record. “Hopefully everyone loves it as much as we do,” he adds.
Asking what the feedback on the record has been like so far – despite it only being out for twelve hours at the time of the conversation, Harry elates: “The reviews have been great, and all the fans love it because they are so dedicated. But it is nice to hear that even like new people are listening, which is great.” With the release of something you have worked hard on, it is only right to celebrate. “We did not have anything planned for a while, we had not thought of it but we said in the group chat the other night that we are gonna go to Amy’s (guitarist) for a nice little family meal,” Harry discusses. The band are about to head on a support slot with Canadian rock band Mother Mother – so their release week schedule is packed, yet there is still space for celebrations.
Delving deep into the creation of The Mess We Seem To Make – Harry highlights his favourite moments in the recording studio and for the record creation overall. “For every project, there is a sort of eureka moment where you come across something in the studio, for me with this album it was the drums on Kiss Me,” the second track on the album – a bass and drum heavy indie-rock track. Pete Robertson – old drummer for British indie legends The Vaccines – had his hand and input on his specific moment for Breen. He says: “He is the producer for the album and we were trying to come up with the chorus for Kiss Me and we were also trying to figure out syncopated rhythms. He played something to me on a kit across the room and Tom our sound engineer could hear it through the room mics, it sounded massive and booming.” Harry continues ecstatically: “We ended up doubling up on the drums on the Kiss Me chorus, so if you listen closely you can hear two drums and that is why it sounds so massive, that was my favourite moment.”
“Either Kiss Me or I End Up Alone are my faves on the album, I think I End Up Alone is going to be a slow burner for fans and the more they listen to it the more they will realise they like it. Kiss Me is a more obvious sort of pop song compared to that,” he explains when trying to pick a favourite from the album. Yet a record stacked with nineties grunge influence – intertwined with new generation pop feel lyrics – it is hard to distinguish a favourite, if not best, from The Mess We Seem To Make.
Breen’s drums are distinguishable throughout the entire record – if not heightened from previous Crawlers projects, such as their EP Loud Without Noise. His stylings are polished and perfected. On this comment, Harry indicates: “It is because of Pete, that I spent a lot of time with him trying to get the drums to sound right.” The drummer has much to say about getting things right and perfect on the record. “Every time we record a new song, we are not just trying to capture a moment of where we are at as musicians and what we are capable of, but we are trying to push ourselves always to record something new. It is like, ok, what is something I cannot play? Let us spend a good hour figuring it out,” Harry implies – The Crawler’s mantra and attitude is to push and improve – they know no creative boundaries. He adds wholeheartedly: “Every time we step into the studio, it is pushing us a little bit further, which is why I think this album has meant so much to us because it is showing us what we are capable of as musicians.”
The album is out, and the songs can see a live audience. “Kills Me To Be Kind is a very drum-oriented track, it is gonna go off for like festivals and things. And I End Up Alone as well I think, sonically it is gonna sound so much better live which will be very exciting,” the drummer adds as his anticipation to play this album on large stages seeps throughout the conversation. On the Crawler’s audience – Harry beams: “I can already hear the crowds screaming the choruses. Everyone had an opportunity to learn the lyrics and it is gonna be amazing people singing back to us.” The Mess We Seem To Make is ready for a live audience – and Crawlers cannot wait for it.
Deflation and exhaustion come hand in hand with any project release – it can tax your energy, and you may worry if your work is not the best – yet Harry did not feel this sense. He says: “I do not think there is ever any doubt, I think whenever you are approaching an album it is good to want to have a vision, but always be susceptible to change.” Adding on, Harry includes: “You will learn new things along the way and you add things that excite you, and pursuing this idea makes the song the best version it can be.” Harry Breen is overly and rightfully passionate about his craft -this mirrors within and throughout the record.
The Mess We Seem To Make is laced with nineties grunge influences ranging from Muse, Nirvana, The Pixies and even The Cure – Harry backs up these influences for Crawlers and himself individually. “For this album, we always said production-wise has a lot of different sounds, we have sad songs and then really poppy songs, we have a grungy heavier song. For this album, we wondered how it was all gonna work together,” Harry starts, then continues: “The Pixies and The Smashing Pumpkins were massive influences sonically.” Harry Breen is a Blink-182 fan – which is no surprise to a die-hard Crawlers fan – but implies for this record despite them being an influence for him: “I do not necessarily play like that in Crawlers,” indicating the production and sonic influences for this record are stacked and layered – and their individual preferences may take a step to the side to make the record sound as cohesive as possible.
“The thing I want the fans to take away from the album is the lyricism and the topics and the emotion behind the music. It is always gonna be important for this to resonate with fans, cause for art to thrive it needs to come from a real place,” the drummer speaks from the heart on the message behind The Mess We Seem To Make and what he wants fans and, wider audiences to take form the listening experience. He adds: “I want people to also realise we are gonna keep making music that sounds good, like we have Golden Bridge and Hit It Again on the same album which are two very different songs. I want people to know we are not afraid to do this with our music.” The band’s mantra of being the best they can always be is further repeated here by Harry Breen – it becomes solidified and intensified as the interview continues.
Breen is also: “Interested to see what people do not like about the album,” he adds. The reviews for the record have been top-notch, yet the band are eager to know what they can improve on for the next record or project. This comment from Harry leads directly to the next question – how would Crawlers define success? “I think a lot of people in the music industry define success as BRIT awards or Grammys but we achieved our dream the second this became a full-time job. It does not mean awards and success and tour buses all the time. We get to go on stage and play music for fans, that is the most exciting part of the job.” Crawlers are blissfully humble and grateful that they can even take this journey out of Merseyside into the world. The Mess We Seem To Make will skyrocket them further into the industry, and it is evident from chatting with Harry that the band are ready to kickstart this new journey and keep expanding the Crawlers family and sound.
Listen to The Mess We Seem To Make Here:
Listen to the full interview here:
