“If Black Mirror was its own genre of television, we’d like to think we’d be the music equivalent”, announces frontman, Max.
Tyneside foursome, Crux, have burst onto the music scene with a bang.
Having released their debut EP in October 2021, which received praise from various high-profile media sources including BBC Newcastle and BBC Radio 6, the outfit have gone from strength to strength, going on to headline the O2 Academy 2 and The Engine Room as well as support Sam Fender.
Based in Newcastle, Crux are influenced by prog-rock and punk/grunge; however, when you did a little bit deeper, you’ll also notice a wide range of literature-based influences. For example, ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’ by Edvard Grieg was, obviously, a massive influence on ‘Radgie Gadgie’ and you may also notice references to ‘Sylvia Plath’ in ‘Living in Dystopia’, ‘The Ragged-Trousered Philanthropists’ by Robert Tressell in ‘Bigg Market’, and ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell in ‘Slaving Away’.
Speaking of ‘Radgie Gadgie’, the band’s new track translates from Geordie to Aggressive Man – and the song reflects the title. As Max notes: “It’s three minutes of chaos with crazy guitar riffs, lightning speed drums, jaunty synth and hammering vocals, with the lyrics dealing with themes of toxic masculinity and trauma. It’s like marmite: you’ll either love it or hate it. But one thing I’m sure of is that it would make a great Halloween track!”
On the live scene, Crux have also been busy, playing gigs across the region including dates in North Shields, Newcastle and Stockton. Speaking about one of their favourite gigs to date, Max explained: “It would have to be our headline gig at The Engine Room in North Shields for the release of our EP ‘Death at the Cash Machine’ in October last year. All of our friends, family, and fans were there to celebrate the release – and everyone was there to have a great time. It was just one stupendous hour of sweaty madness!”
The band are currently recording four new singles with Sam Grant, the guitarist from Pigs x7 and Rubber Oh, at Blank Studios. Max added: “They’re sounding like some of our best pieces of songwriting to date.” After Radgie Gadgie, Crux are also planning on releasing a single in December which was recorded back in March at the Nave Studios in Leeds.
Find out more about Crux by heading to crux.band.
