Crymwav have planted their flag with a snarling new single. The L.A. four-piece (pronounced Crimewave) just dropped their take on “Everything Turns Grey,” the Agent Orange classic, and it’s out now on Electric Pudding Recordings. The cover crackles with the same 1980s American hardcore energy that runs through the group’s DNA, sharpened by punk, post-punk, and goth edges. It’s a ferocious, no-wasted-motion reading of a song that still cuts decades later.
The track closed out a long-awaited recording session for the group’s upcoming LP, and it landed almost by accident. “This song has resonated with me from the moment I first heard it all those years ago and it feels so relevant to today,” says lead singer and guitarist Roger Deering. “It was the last-minute addition at the end of our last recording session to finish up our long-awaited LP. It just came together effortlessly and just felt right. I think we’ve done it justice. We are eager to let this out into the universe.”
Crymwav grew out of the remains of L.A. rockers Smash Fashion, and the project belongs to Deering, who traces its origins to a writing burst across the Atlantic. “I was staying in London about four years ago when a songwriting spree hit me,” he explains. “I wanted to channel the spirit of bands from that area, Hawkwind, The Clash, Killing Joke, Motörhead. I came back to L.A. with a fistful of songs, and Crymwav was born.” The group rounds out that vision with nods to Thin Lizzy, UFO, and The Ruts.