The Punk Crone – Rage Against The Dying Of The Light
The Punk Crone – Rage Against The Dying Of The Light – Album Review
If you don’t recognize the title of this record from the legendary poet Dylan Thomas, then study up y’all – you certainly should – the influence of his poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night & his writing continues to reverberate around the world, and will keep doing so long, long after you and I are gone. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, to sum it up on surface level & catch you up real quick, it’s about refusing to simply let death come at you and win without a battle. It’s about the concept that we are alive right up to the very moments of our last breath, and a reminder to make the most of that at all times. Sue Williamson, aka The Punk Crone, gets that, and she knows she’s still got a long way to go. In the meantime, she’s been inspiring people like myself, and folks all over the world from all ages and all walks of life, in addition to assisting the creative community reach their own dreams through her tireless work at Tang Hall SMART CIC, where she’s based out of in York, England. In the background of all that, when she gets a minute or two of free time, she makes the occasional song…maybe a video…she might collaborate with another artist…or in this instance, finally at long last, she’s finished her very own album. You get the point – she could teach an entire class on how to properly Rage Against The Dying Of The Light. She’s so incredibly busy, and so dedicated to her work with other artists & people out there, that she rarely takes enough time for herself as far as I can tell from way over here in Canada. I’m very happy that she’s completed this record; I know it’s been important for her to check this off her list once & for all…”the end of an era” as she describes it…Sue finished what she claims will be her “final album.” In my heart of hearts, I like to think she’s still just getting warmed up…but I suppose time will tell the tale as it ticks on. One way or the other, I can promise you that she will continue to Rage Against The Dying Of The Light – because that, dear readers, dear friends, is who Sue Williamson genuinely IS, and always will be. Long may you run my friend – congratulations on the release of your brand-new album.
As “Decay” creeps into place, the artistic nature of her Alternative sound and The Punk Crone’s poetic words are displayed for the first time as the album snaps right into place. She sings wonderfully, the sound of the song overall is gritty & beautiful & dark at the same time…harmonies are great, the melody is stellar, the hooks are strong – “Decay” sets the standard high as the record begins, and to be honest with ya, pumps out a significant level of single-worthy vibes. It all feels highly organic and very real – it might be “poisonous to you, and it is poisonous to me” – but it sounds freakin’ great, and I’m here for it! You can hear D.Ni.L’s stamp on this one as it continues on, with the maestro himself actually supplying the backing vocals as the song progresses, and the arrangement of the music as well. They’re known collaborators and musical co-conspirators…they were impressive when we first heard them working together as Wasabi Fire Alarm back in 2018, they continued to make an impact as Ernest a year later, and here on The Punk Crone’s record, their natural ability to complement each other’s sound remains as intact and exciting as ever. A track like “Decay” has a ton in common with the Alt-Grunge acts of the 90s from Throwing Muses, Belly, Babes In Toyland & whatnot…my list could go on & on – I love that style of sound where the bold meets the beautiful, where attitude becomes enchanting…it’s real hybrid stuff.
The Punk Crone keeps on crushin’ it with brilliantly jazzy vocals that sink deep into the depths of the music originally created for Wasabi Fire Alarm & refined by D.Ni.L for this particular studio project – “Brittle” is complete proof that she’s got so much more life in her veins than half the zombies walkin’ around this planet of ours, and that she was born destined to Rage Against The Dying Of The Light. Give her all the credit she deserves folks…you know full well that most people over forty tend to start mellowing out right quick – and if anything, The Punk Crone continues to amp herself up and dig on into the hard stuff. “Brittle” has an absolutely stellar way of moving and grooving, and great dynamics that make perfect use of her vocals in the verses. An enigmatic & expressive performer to the nth degree, I love the way that “Brittle” surges from the sweet melodic sound of its verses into the main meat of the chorus, into the heaviness…it’s the classic loud/quiet dynamics y’all know and love, perfectly executed. Don’t get me wrong – I really liked “Decay” as the album started up, but I feel like I’m that much more attached to “Brittle” after having a good spin through this record in-full. As if this song wasn’t already great enough, hearing it twist into the third minute led this second cut straight into a fantastic finale.
I mean…full disclosure, y’all know I’m a fan. If you somehow missed that point, go back and read the very first paragraph of this review all over again until you get it. That being said, The Punk Crone is no more immune to any criticism I might have than anyone else would be – if it was warranted, which so far, it definitely ain’t. Call it the effect of taking your time to do things right…call it the natural result of working with the right people like D.Ni.L – call it whatever ya like as far as I’m concerned, just LISTEN to how well things are coming out in this lineup of songs will ya? “Quick Now” somehow raises the bar yet again…we’ve got award-worthy stuff here as far as I’m concerned. From the powerfully insightful words that The Punk Crone has penned to it that point out how fast people are to judge…”Quick Now” seems to be a reminder to do the opposite of so much of what she points out along the way. Balanced by the patience displayed in the music, which supports my theory through the delicate nature of the piano, you’ll find “Quick Now” almost plays like the opposite of what its theme is. Taking things slowly, and letting the moment really work its magic on you, “Quick Now” is nothing short of completely superb, mesmerizing, and all-out captivating. From the stunning melody in the music & structure, to the truly beautiful way that The Punk Crone sings this song from start to finish…I’m tellin’ ya folks…this is the kind of song that’ll end up being the clincher for many people as they listen to Rage Against The Dying Of The Light. If you were at all on the fence about what you were listening to up to this moment somehow, then it’s quite likely gonna be “Quick Now” that provides the true tipping point to get you completely onboard. No joke – I’m in awe of the songwriting here…I could loop this & willingly get lost in it for days.
Which, naturally, makes the fourth track “Too Prickly To Be Pretty” have what’s likely one of the toughest spots to fill on this album. Y’ain’t gonna find me being the guy to tell you that it’s a bad track – because it’s not – it simply has a really hard place in the lineup to be as successful as it could potentially be by coming after “Quick Now.” That happens to the best of the best out there – you know it and I know it – we’ve all got albums we love where every song on’em qualifies as a stellar cut in its own right, but might pale a bit by the comparison to what comes directly before it in the set-list. A track like “Too Pretty To Be Prickly” has a lot in common with the cleverly venomous and direct songwriting you’d find from a legend like Shirley Manson in Garbage (whom you should all be following on social media for her incredibly insightful commentary), and it definitely carries itself along the lines of what we could hear Wasabi Fire Alarm was creating when that project was active. “Too Prickly To Be Pretty” makes good use of its deadly vibes and proudly treads into murky waters…great guitars in this track, and the high-end of The Punk Crone’s vocals stand out as a real highlight within the chorus of this tune too. It’s got a whole lot of crunch when it comes right down to it…tracks like “Too Prickly To Be Pretty” are unafraid to provide a little sonic savagery and serious bite to’em, and I dig that. I’m always gonna be the guy that’s gonna advocate on behalf of the melody you’ll find in a song like “Quick Now,” but there’s definitely a time & place for tracks like “Too Prickly To Be Pretty” to be turned up to maximum volume too. It’s cuts like this that put the ‘Punk’ in The Punk Crone in terms of its defiant direction and empowering attitude.
Her confidence and fearlessness is never anything short of inspiring in that regard – and you’ll get a taste of that onscreen with the video for “Bad Faith” that accompanies the song. I’m always interested in what artists consider to be the tracks that get the visuals, you know what I mean? I’m over here shouting that “Quick Now,” or any of the first three tracks for that matter, are probably the main singles I’ve heard so far on this record, and yet those aren’t the ones that have been selected as such – yet. “Bad Faith” is arguably a great choice overall in terms of the artist that The Punk Crone has set out to be in this particular incarnation of her music; it might appear to be fairly low-key and mellow, but make no mistake, there’s actually much more in common with the Punk genre on this track than most others you’ll find on the album. It’s got a controlled & classic kind of cool to it…the kind of vibe that you’d end up hearing run through the veins of everything from the early Alternative movement in the underground when R.E.M. was first ripping into the scene, to the smoldering vibes that continue to haunt the artistic sounds in the work of bands the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or Florence + The Machine to this very day – “Bad Faith” reveals the everlasting relevance in this type of tune. As far as the production is concerned, I think you can also hear that the newer tracks have a bit of an advantage in comparison to the tracks that have been re-worked from the Wasabi Fire Alarm era. Like all artists behind the scenes or in front of’em, D.Ni.L has learned a lot and evolved too throughout the years – so it only seems natural that a few of the tracks on this record seem to exercise a stronger grip on the overall clarity in the production.
In many ways, Rage Against The Dying Of The Light plays like a greatest hits record, or at the very least, a summation of so many highlights that Sue has created throughout the course of her artistic career. “Bad Dolly” for example, was a track I reviewed back in 2020, probably right around the time that our planet was imploding from the pandemic. Chances are, the resulting restrictions & whatnot delayed the release of this album a bit as the world found its way through the magnitude of the whole mess, which is why we’ve got tracks like “Bad Dolly” that date back as far as they do, or “Midnight” later on in this set. In any event, it’s still cohesive to this record and a great inclusion to the lineup – “Bad Dolly” was a solid single back when I first heard it, and it’s still a great song now. Y’all know me…I rarely feel any different about songs that I’ve previously heard, because I genuinely listen to everything with my full attention and provide my honest thoughts to ya, every time. I’m confident I had great things to say about this track back in 2020, cause it’s a great song that has clearly held up strong throughout the years, and slides easily into this new lineup now. You can find my original thoughts on “Bad Dolly” by clicking here.
In terms of uniqueness you’ll find in this set, “Hit The Ground” really supplies something different to the album that I think you’ll definitely appreciate. No doubt that it’s on the fringe of what makes it cohesive enough to be included, but right in the sweet spot that listeners will have no problem accepting, “Hit The Ground” makes use of a guest appearance from Henry on the guitar, and works a highly rhythmic & soulful magic on ya. The Punk Crone proves her versatility once again with this track, giving you another dimension of her whole sound on “Hit The Ground” that seems to be a seamless fit for the way she sings. This track has a date stamped onto it that also has it placed back in the day around 2019, but what I’m hearing on this song isn’t likely to ever get old. Embodying the spirit of what it’s like to Rage Against The Dying Of The Light, a sound like this is gonna stay fresh for decades to follow and never get stale on ya. In many ways, it incorporates a more simplistic design and approach than many of the other songs do, but it’s also complete proof that sometimes the easiest methods lead to the greatest results. It’s the Occam’s Razor of songwriting in full bloom; we don’t need to overcomplicate what simply works.
I’m still a big fan of “Midnight” too, which was originally released with our main man D.Ni.L, aka Neil Card, under the name of Ernest, which featured Suzy, aka Middle Aged Lady, aka The Punk Crone, aka Sue Williamson on the vocals…you get what I’m driving at here – they do a whole lot of things y’all! To do a whole lot of things, sometimes you need to go by a whole lot of names – ask any professional spy that has a wallet full of different ID cards & passports to get to where they need to go! The same can be true in the world of art & music…we have different gears and they can serve entirely different functions. Take myself for example – the majority of you know me from what I write here on this site as Jer @ SBS – and there’s probably next to no chance at all that all five of my regular readers here have any idea at all that I’ve been writing movie and film reviews for a completely different site under my actual name! You see how that works? Different gears, different modes, different functions, different reasons – and ultimately, it gives those that tend to do that kinda stuff a different freedom in their own creativity. You’ll hear that in the delicately sound of “Midnight” and its more classically sweet melody – it feels like it’s a traditional tune stripped right out from back in the golden era of music, and it’s lovely to listen to. Another highly unique & diverse track to have included on this record, and another great song to have recalled for Rage Against The Dying Of The Light – read my original review on this song by clicking here.
Trippin’ on into “Pitter Patter,” which also traces back to the Wasabi Fire Alarm days and features a noticeable presence from D.Ni.L in the mix, they’ve really got a great way of combining the light sound of The Punk Crone’s vocals with Neil’s tendency to dive deep into the darkness & finding a balance that really works wonders. Visually, it’s probably the most fun of the bunch as the video roams through all kinds of warped scenes, colors, and effects onscreen – and of the cuts that have videos, I suppose there could be a solid argument that “Pitter Patter” might have the most memorable hooks to it too. That being said…is it just a UK versus Canada thing? Is there some reason that I’d tell ya the first three tracks on this record are what should definitely be the main singles & likely supply the most universal sounds, versus the way they’re hearing these songs across the pond and choosing entirely different tracks to represent this album? Am I the crazy one? I might very well be, but I’m not really disputing any of the choices that have been made, I’m just having a bit of fun over here. Ultimately, like I’ve been explaining along the way, an album like Rage Against The Dying Of The Light plays like a greatest hits compilation of Williamson’s career highlights over the past five years or so, in which case, you could argue any of its songs would make for a solid gateway into The Punk Crone’s music. “Pitter Patter” is a quality cut, and there’s no doubt about that. If anything, it makes me hope that Sue will continue to show up in other ways over the future to follow. Maybe it won’t be her own record…maybe it’ll be a resurgence of Wasabi Fire Alarm, or a guest appearance on a D.Ni.L album…you never know…but yeah – I would miss this voice were it not to pop up in my speakers and these videos playing onscreen if she was gone. The grindin’ vibes-meets-artistic design of “Pitter Patter” makes for a compelling and engaging listen, 100%.
As I understand it, the final four tracks on this album are a bit of a bonus for ya…they’re all recorded live off the floor in the studio, and I suppose, probably could have potentially been refined more than what we hear. I ain’t really complaining – quality-wise, they still sound good, and I think it’s cool to get what’s essentially a bit of a behind the scenes experience in terms of how The Punk Crone has been operating. “Learned To Shut My Mouth” is much more the exception than the rule I’d reckon…it does come out like it has the sound of just lettin’ loose in the studio for a little bit of fun as opposed to getting down to serious business, but like I was saying, it’s kind of nice to get that perspective on how the sausage gets made you know? “Learned To Shut My Mouth” is a bit more comparable to other things you’ve likely heard throughout the history of music in terms of how its assembled…but you could say the same thing about a track like “Brain Stew” by Green Day too, which essentially uses the same chords & whatnot. Sometimes you just wanna rock, and there’s always room for that in the art of making music. “Learned To Shut My Mouth” is what a bonus track pretty much should be…you can hear there’s a song here for sure, but more importantly, it’s like you can hear the wisdom of The Punk Crone and her band realizing that they’ve tapped the true potential of it in the process. You could spend a lifetime trying to refine a track like this one even further, and chances are, it’d end up making as much of an impression on the people listening as this live studio take does. Understanding where to call the game is one of the most crucial aspects of songwriting & one of the hardest to achieve – this proves that The Punk Crone knows that. Rocking it live will never be out of the question – that’s where songs like this continue to thrive.
“Beam Me Up” is one of those wonderful Indie/Alt-Rock hybrids…actually very reminiscent of one of the UK’s own bands, Echobelly. Another solid comparison in terms of how these songs sound, the energy, the art, and the fact that they’re available for us to hear…actually puts good ol’ Sue very close to another legendary UK hero too – none other than the amazing Chris Sievey. If that isn’t a name you know, then get on your freakin’ Google machines and BEHOLD THE AWESOMENESS…because that dude was amazing. Another real inspirational hero, extremely underrated in terms of music’s history, and his contributions are all extremely significant to anyone that was paying attention, just like Williamson’s have been over the course of time. Music for music’s sake y’all…creating for the sake of creation…to embrace the spirit of being ALIVE…to Rage Against The Dying Of The Light…that’s what this has all been about, and in my opinion, those reasons are as great as any could have been in terms of including these live studio takes at the very end. “Beam Me Up” is a genuinely kickass track if you ask me. I might think that a song like “Learned To Shut My Mouth” has reached its final destination…but “Beam Me Up” could be the kind of cut that ends up coming back around in a different variation one day. Like, as in, I wouldn’t give up on this one just yet – but at the same time, I think it’s already completely special in the way we hear it now. A bit on the irresistible & charming side of The Punk Crone’s sound if you ask me.
It should be noted that these live studio cuts at the end of this album feature the raw talents of a full band, which includes Alex Williamson (Guitar), Kirby Howarth (Guitar), Alan Rollinson (Bass), and Ewan Howarth (Drums). Like I’ve been saying, it’s fun, and it gives you insight & further perspective into the whole creative process happening in The Punk Crone’s orbit. I ain’t gonna be the guy to tell ya that “Peacock” is going to be the track to bring home the hardware when it comes to award season, but I’d be lying to ya by omission if I didn’t say it’s got some spark to it too. It’s very…hmm…on-point when it comes to its theme, and probably more direct than you’d assume in that regard. As in, it’s arguably very much about a “Peacock,” or at the very least, the perceived vanity that’s always been associated with the bird and how that relates to our ego-centric society, and much of the plastic we see on Instagram. I ain’t hatin’ on it, but it’s not my favorite of the bunch either…it’s a track that has found its rightful place as a studio live-take & chances are that’s where this song will remain, quoth the “Peacock,” nevermore.
“Bad Connection” reveals another smart decision in terms of where to cut the cord. Not a bad track again, just not one that could have done a whole lot more than it currently does. Ultimately, all four of these tracks at the end of Rage Against The Dying Of The Light are fairly certain to remind the old folks like myself about the days we lived through in the liner notes. CD’s, tapes, and records all had the luxury of potentially hiding something extra for us to listen to…and more often than not, what we would find wouldn’t be something that a ton of money was spent on, you dig? It’d be raw studio takes like these tracks have been…B-sides, half-finished rarities, ideas that needed incubation, or simply tracks where the bands & artists we’d be listening to were having FUN. And you know something folks? WE ATE IT ALL UP. Happily, willingly, and repeatedly…because the true fans are always happy to get more of what they love, at any stage of a song’s existence. So for myself personally, listening to tracks like “Bad Connection” and the rest of these live-studio takes brought me right back to the nostalgia of what it meant to be a fan back in the day, as opposed to the colder era we’re living in now in our digital world. A “Bad Connection” thematically for this particular song, sure – but as far as the album is concerned, we all hear a great connection to music, and a strong voice that’ll never get old – I know I’m always going to look forward to hearing more from Sue under whatever name she chooses, and hope she continues on her inspiring artistic path in all that she does, and keeps on showing the new generation how it’s done.
Find more music by The Punk Crone at the official YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@ThePunkCrone
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