Established in 2005, Devon lefty roots-punks, Crazy Arm, didn’t know what they wanted to be when they grew up so decided to throw everything against the wall to see what stuck. The result is a creative, grizzly and sprawling mess of ’60s protest song, post/hardcore, Americana, bluegrass, anarcho-punk and heartland rock’n’roll, combined with a grass-roots, anti-fascist slant. The band have released four albums on Xtra Mile Recordings: Born To Ruin in 2009 (‘Stunning’ 8/10 Kerrang!), Union City Breath in 2011 (‘A triumph from start to finish’ 9/10 Punktastic), The Southern Wild in 2013 (‘A glorious surprise’ 8/10 R2), and Dark Hands, Thunderbolts (‘Staggeringly ambitious’ 9/10 Classic Rock) in 2021. Each album has showcased a band at the top
of their game and made them many fans around the globe.
Dark Hands, Thunderbolts was released in January 2021 and is a return to the rowdy guitars, epic choruses and Americana twang of Crazy Arm’s first two albums. This collection of songs finds the band in a reflective but no less indignant mood. It features the heaviest, the lightest and the most expansive songs that the band have recorded, with a strong cinematic influence at play, betraying their fondness for Ennio Morricone, Murder By Death and Constantines. Of course, their stock-in-trade – breathless punk rock riffola, Appalachian harmonies, syncopated rhythms, anthemic singalongs – are still very present and correct. They have also released many singles including their debut 7″, Broken By The Wheel, on Seven Records (2009); Still To Keep on a split 7” with Frank Turner (2010); Little Boats 7″ for Record Store Day on Household Name Records (2011); and Remembrance on a split 7” with Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun (2013). The most recent single, “Fear Up,” was released in February 2021.
Over the years, Crazy Arm have developed another side to their forte: playing stripped-down acoustic songs, with fiddle, banjo and close harmonies, that reflect their fondness for folk-roots, bluegrass and Americana. Their third album, The Southern Wild, bore the fruits of this venture. Crazy Arm have toured the UK/Europe countless times as headliners and with the likes of Against Me!, Frank Turner, Chuck Ragan, Larry & His Flask, Murder By Death, Restorations, Cancer Bats, Boysetsfire, Sonic Boom Six and Apologies I Have None. They have played many festivals along the way including Boomtown Fair, 2000 Trees (ten times!), Reading/Leeds, Boardmasters, Groezrock (Belgium), Riez (Germany) and Mighty Sounds (Czech Republic).
