Even before her auspicious 2003 debut full-length 'Drive It Like You Stole It', Yorkshire's Sally Crewe proved herself to be a songwriting master of economy, combining a classicist's touch of pop history with a decidedly modern, lean approach to the Next Of New Wave (after The Last Wave). And while 2005's 'Shortly After Take-Off' was a slightly more expansive take on things, musically and lyrically, powerhouse album numero 3, 'Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You' has proven far superior to both, with Crewe proving she can cram twice as much information into each composition if merely allowed to stretch the length from two minutes flat to 2:30. Stylistically, she's bent but not broken a winning formula, and while 'Your Nearest Exit…' is the most varied Sudden Moves effort to date, both rhythmically and lyrically, the bon mots flow very quickly and rarely overstay their welcome. Unlike, say, Turkey's occupation of Cyprus.
Based in Austin, TX for the past two years, Sally's prowess onstage and in the studio is due in some portion to the most empathic and telepathic rhythm section she's recruited to date, drummer George Duron (Roky Erickson, Dumptruck, The Summer Wardrobe) and bassist Matt Baab (The Distant Seconds). Though with all due respect to the capitol city's most propulsive rock trio, it's her songs and voice that set The Sudden Moves apart from the legion of merely competent hopefuls that litter the nation's indie circuit. Recorded throughout 2007 in separate sessions with Spoon's Jim Eno at Public Hi-Fi (and subsequently, with Jim Vollentine at Mob House) Crewe's latest collection of tunes, while unmistakably in her patented style, have never been as catchy, complex nor as anthemic. Nor as well recorded.
Though sporadic touring in far flung parts of the globe (Liverpool! Omaha!) with friends like Spoon, The Wedding Present, Mission of Burma, John Vanderslice to name a handful, The Sudden Moves have until this point generated more goodwill than money. With the band making a hard fought transition into something approaching a full time-y endeavor, the trio are very poised to flip that equation around. (Ideally, they'd like to avoid the bad will).
Like many other brilliant bands that are either 5 or 5 million minutes ahead of their time, Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves have yet to approach household-word status (save for their own households). Said situation is likely to be sorted out shortly, but until then, you have the unique opportunity to tell your friends how terrific 'Magnet' and 'Sleepyhead' are a good few weeks before they've either been leaked or blogged-2-death.I don't wanna say such chances come along once in a lifetime - for all I know, you could be 300 years old - but songwriters this witty, confident and cool are awfully rare.
Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves toured the UK last December supporting The Wedding Present, a tour which not only garnered them a ton of new fans, but also marked the introduction of their new bass-player, power pop icon / Westerberg / Pollard sideman Tommy Keene.
Gerard Cosloy
Austin, TX, January 2009
Other nice things people have said about us:
"Wake Up Heroes - Sally Crewe and The Sudden Moves. They sound like early Elvis Costello and The Attractions in this 1:19 chartbuster but she's got way better lines such as "If this car had a backseat, we'd be in it..."
- Jim H, Vinyl Mine
BLURT REVIEW of 'Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You'
Sally Crewe left her native U.K. several year back and landed in Austin Texas. After a strong debut, (2003's awesomely named Drive It Like You Stole It) she came back strong with a fuller sound (including keyboards) on her 2005 sophomore effort, Shortly After Take Off. On record number three she goes for a more stripped down sound and with a terrific, obedient rhythm section (including Dumptruck's George Duron on drums and Matt Babb on bass) who seem to be able to do whatever it is she asks ("Ummm, can you guys play "No Dancing" backwards in 3-4 time?" , "Why, of course Sally") they pump out a baker's dozen of winners on here. Crewe has that sort of spunk and charisma.
The record starts off strong with cool, jittery energy of the title track and while the next couple of tunes were decent -to-good it's on song number 4, "Sleepyhead" where Crewe and company reel off a clutch of superb tunes. That song could/should be the single while the next cut "How Can People Wear That Stuff", has an opening guitar riff worthy of anything off Vs. and "Looks Fast For a Reason", arguably the record's best song, has some to-die-for hooks and shows Sally stretching her vocals chords to full effect. The second half of the record is just as durable and with the strength of the songs and Crewe's confidence it's no wonder bands like Mission of Burma, The Wedding Present and Spoon have chosen her as an opener on their tours. The car door is open and the keys are in it, what are you waiting for? Just take off man! (8 stars)
Standout Tracks: "Sleepyhead", "Looks Fast For a Reason", "Magnet"
- Tim Hinely, Blurt
MAGNET EDITORIAL: From The Desk Of Tommy Keene: Sally Crewe
Keene: As I was bumming around SXSW in 2008, I was reintroduced to Sally Crewe, whom I’d met a couple of times over the years, as she was married to a friend of mine. Sally and I and a bunch of others ended up one night at a karaoke place on the outskirts of Austin; there was a party going on, complete with people drunkenly singing along to Iron Maiden songs. Sally invited us to hear her group, the Sudden Moves, play the next afternoon at a party away from the maddening throng of festival-goers. What immediately struck me about her was that she was cute and feminine but looked great holding a guitar, and she could really rock. I’m a bit of a closet rock misogynist—sometimes girls with guitars just look like they’re uncomfortable—but Sally reminded me of great female rockers like Chrissie Hynde and Polly Harvey. After the show, she was saying how they had a European tour coming up in the fall opening for the Wedding Present and their present bass player refused to travel. I blurted out, “I’ll do it,†and Sally said, “OK, you’re on!†So began my career as a bass player, although I’ve been playing bass a lot lately, especially on my last couple of records. We did three shows in Scotland and four in England and had a blast, but we suffered a little bit from Opening Act Syndrome; the Wedding Present’s punters liked to show up quite late.
Sally’s songs are melodic, punchy and sometimes quite short. I’m very envious of that, as it’s really difficult sometimes to get everything in that you want in under two minutes. But she delivers. And, most importantly, they rock. Pick up her new record, Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You, and tell ‘em Tommy sent you.
-Tommy Keene, during his stint as Guest Editor at Magnet
POPMATTERS REVIEW of 'Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You'
"Cars and boys, the primary lyrical interests (read obsessions) that fueled the staccato post-punk engine of singer/guitarist Sally Crewe’s two previous long players, Drive It Like You Stole It (2003) and Shortly After Take-Off (2005), are still in evidence on Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You. This time around, however, relationships take a front seat, while the automobile is used less as a metaphor for love than an escape pod from life’s troubles. One notable exception is Crewe’s wonderful ode to her Lotus Elise on “Call the Policeâ€. Backed by her ever-changing band the Sudden Moves, which consists here of George Duron on drums and bassist Matt Baab (since replaced by Tommy Keene), Crewe, the Austin-based ex-pat from Yorkshire, has delivered another infectious blast of streamlined indie-pop that brings to mind the cool swagger of early Joe Jackson. Jagged guitar and a skanking stop-start rhythm section provide the foundation for Crewe’s whip-smart lyrics such as the catchy lovelorn lines found on “Magnet†("You’re like a magnet / I’m just a little paper clip"), one of the albums many highlights. Great stuff! "
-Alan Brown, PopMatters
POWERPOP OVERDOSE: 'Monday Featured Artist' / Review of 'Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You'
Catchy hooks and harmonies dominate Crewe’s work and give us a decidedly modern approach to New Wave. Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves have just wrapped up a UK tour supporting The Wedding Present. Their latest release Your Nearest Exit May Be Behind You is a New Wave tinged power pop album that would sound great at home, work or just sitting in traffic.
-PowerPop Overdose
UNBLINKING EAR Review of 'YOUR NEAREST EXIT MAY BE BEHIND YOU' (Jan 27, 2009):
"As I'm sure you know, Sally and her ever-fluctuating backing band have already released one of the decade's best albums with their debut, 2003's Drive It Like You Stole It. Wait... you didn't know that? Well, you really should since Sally is one of the finest authors of pop music around right now. Her songs are pretty much everything one could want from a pop tune: direct and immediately affecting, but displaying a depth that becomes apparent on repeated listens. Subject matter rarely strays from matters of the heart, which is a pop music staple to be sure. It's a tribute to Sally's craft that her take on love and romance never ventures into trite or drippy territory. I can probably count the number of songwriters who pull the above off on a regular basis using both hands (and maye a toe.) In other words, Sally's breathing some rather rarefied air. Her skills as a tunesmith have earned her fans like Spoon's Brit Daniel and Jim Eno (both of whom appear on Drive It) and power pop-legend Tommy Keene (who will occasionally take a break from his legendary status to be the Sudden Moves' bassist.) I know that's an impressive group of pals but frankly, her material is even more impressive. Get on board this train now, people."
-Paul Bruno, The Unblinking Ear
