Crying Loser - The Ick: I’m glad this skronky no wave album from Cork exists

They’re from Cork, they make abrasive, skronky, improvisational no-wave art rock post-punk, and they have just released their debut album The Ick.

There’s a particular kind of Irish band that exists almost entirely outside the usual structures. No polished press shots, no carefully worded statements about their influences, no radio-friendly anything. Crying Loser are one of those bands.

The debut album The Ick was released on April 24th via Trapped Animal Records’ new imprint We Go to 11.

It was a relatively long time coming – Crying Loser’s debut single ‘Friends’ was legitimately the first exciting song of 2023 which was followed by the Oaf Milk EP later that year.

The Ick grew out of noisy basement improvisations in Cork, and the album retains the energy of something that could fall apart at any moment but somehow holds together through sheer force of momentum.

Arthur Pawsey (guitars/vocals), Micheál Fitzgerald (bass), Ruarí De Búrca (drums) and Sam Clague (bass clarinet, marimba) make up a lineup that already tells you something about what you’re walking into. Bass clarinet and marimba? Go on, I’m listening…

James Chance and the Contortions are naturally, a no wave influence. Bandcamp described them as “a zombie R&B band at the dystopian dance party.”

What they’re doing sits squarely in the no-wave tradition – the idea that punk’s energy doesn’t have to be contained in verse-chorus structures, that groove and chaos can coexist, that dissonance is just another texture. It’s satisfying to hear an Irish band doing it with this level of commitment.

‘Flesh Interface’ sounds like an angry industrial Sultans Of Ping with James Chance on sax, it’s abrasive on the surface, but deliberate underneath. ‘Do The Jerk’ leans into the jerky saxplosion groove side, finding something almost dancefloor-adjacent in the skronk.

‘Isn’t It Better Than Staying In Bed’ is the wry moment of relief puncturing the tension with a Pink Panther theme loped staccato rhythm, while ‘Dem Jobs’ brings some instrumental soft and gentle to the party with the repeated line “now all my friends have got dem jobs.”

‘Eat The Evidence’ leans into cascading fevered runs of notes and a banger of a rhythm, with an almost cartoonish vocal delivery, before settling into a very satisfying motorik outro.

The album explores alienation and the hollowness of modern life, which is what no-wave has always been about, but Crying Loser are smart enough not to make that feel heavy-handed.

Pawsey doesn’t sing, he shouts, but the band around him makes sure there’s always something to hold onto – a groove, a riff, a moment of unexpected quiet. The production choices are confident, the music isn’t polished, the rawness is foundational.

BBC6 Music have been paying attention, with Deb Grant and Amy Lamé both picking up on the band of late with the band’s UK tour closing in Newcastle tonight.

But more than external validation, what makes The Ick matter is that Cork’s DIY scene has often been producing genuinely committed music for years without a lot of outside attention, and this record feels like a document of that while getting that external attention. The Ick sounds like a band that would have made this record regardless of who was listening.

I’m glad they exist. I’m very glad this record exists. Get The Ick.

The Ick is out now on Trapped Animal Records / We Go to 11.

Crying Loser Online:
Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube

Niall Byrne

Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent,  Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter,  and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.

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