Bre Morrell is the lead singer for the excellently dreamy Texas band Temple Of Angels, who released the lovely debut album Endless Pursuit a couple of years ago. Shaun Durkan used to front Weekend, a very cool San Francisco psych rock power trio who were fated to go forever underrated because they arrived on the radar around the same time as the Weeknd. Durkan has also produced for acts like Topographies and Young Prisms, and he and Morell as the two members of crushed, a duo whose blurry, expansive sound is cinematic enough to make you feel like you're living in a montage but also tough enough that they've played the giant LA hardcore fest Sound And Fury. They're special.
crushed's debut EP extra life was one of our favorites of 2023, and now they've announced plans to follow it with their first full-length. The duo and co-producer Jorge Elbrecht recorded the forthcoming LP starburn -- crushed prefer lower-case letters -- different locations, since Morrell and Durkan are currently based in Los Angeles and Portland, respectively. It was influenced by '90s trip-hop, Britpop, and alt-rock, but it doesn't fit into any particular genre. Lead single "starburn" floats along on a dreamy cloud. Here's what Durkan says about it:
"starburn" is about searching for hope on the brink of despair. I was reflecting on how I’ve spent my life, how I’ve used my time, and how desperate I've felt for it all to amount to something worthy of all the things I've sacrificed -- a stable job, a family, my overall wellbeing, etc. -- and the fear that maybe I'd spent my life in vain searching in the wrong places for some kind of satisfaction/self-worth. Maybe I missed a turn somewhere. The song is a cry for some kind of divine intervention, or for a blessing of cosmic luck to make me feel like my life could eventually add up to something that made sense to me before the fear and regret catches up and takes the wheel.
Luke Orlando directed the atmospheric black and white video for "starburn." In the months ahead, crushed will head out on tour with fellow duo Cafuné. Below, check out the "starburn" clip, the no scope tracklist, and their dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "exo"
02 "starburn"
03 "cwtch"
04 "heartcontainer"
05 "oneshot"
06 "airgap1"
07 "meghan"
08 "licorice"
09 "silene"
10 "weaponx"
11 "celadon"
12 "airgap2"
TOUR DATES:
6/28 - New York, NY @ Night Club 101
9/19 - Washington, DC @ The Atlantis *
9/20 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry at The Fillmore *
9/22 - Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall *
9/23 - Montréal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB *
9/24 - Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall *
9/26 - Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall *
9/27 - Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon *
9/30 - Denver, CO @ Globe Hall *
10/02 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *
10/05 - Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios *
10/06 - Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile @ Madame Lou's *
10/08 - San Francisco, CA @ Bimbo’s 365 Club *
10/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom *
10/12 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge *
10/14 - Dallas, TX @ Cambridge Room @ House of Blues Dallas *
10/15 - Austin, TX @ The Parish *
10/17 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade - Hell *
10/18 - Carrboro, NC @ Back Room @ Cat’s Cradle *
10/22 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
* with Cafuné
no scope is out 9/26 on Ghostly International.
