Lippy young Scousers THE CRESCENT'S recent debut single "On The Run" startled your reviewer on two separate counts. Firstly, the band had a consistently harder sound than the LA'S-aping crew I'd been led to expect and secondly WAYNE WHITFIELD'S voice really took me aback - coming on all seasoned pro grainy and not unlike a young STEVE MARRIOTT if you closed your eyes. Serious praise round these parts, John.
Follow-up 45 (can we still call 'em that?) "Test Of Time" also comes out of the traps at a fair clip. It's a tad more measured than the debut, but its' sharp, ringing guitars, beefy organ and insistent circular rhythms are as infectious as nappy rash in a creche after several spins. Mind you, this hack could do without the cod-psychedelic backwards tape bit before they slide back into the refrain towards the end.
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Nonetheless, the HUYTON-based boys are still showing there's unusually old heads on such naive shoulders and "Test Of Time" straddles the divide between bright melody and lyrical melody with something resembling ease to push into the space between OASIS and THE LA'S.
You've definitely not heard the last of this lot, folks.
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