Crescent (band)

Crescent are an alternative music band from Bristol, England, formed in the early 1990s by Matt Jones (guitar, vocals and other instruments), Chris Locke (bass on earlier albums) and Jasper Larsen (drums and percussion). Currently, the two principal members are brothers Matt Jones and Sam Jones (guitar and other instruments). Sam Jones also plays and records as 'The Balky Mule'.[1]

Matt Jones, Crescent, circa 1995. Photo by Kate Wright.

Both the Jones brothers are also members of Movietone. Kate Wright (singer and guitarist in Movietone) is also the bass player in Crescent. Movietone's Rachel Coe plays clarinet on the most recent Crescent album, and Sam Jones occasionally played live with Flying Saucer Attack, a band which also had Rachel Coe (then Brook) as a permanent member.[2]

Crescent's music is generally slow, minimalistic and melancholy, unsurprisingly in a similar vein to Movietone but with an occasionally harsh, discordant edge, particularly in the earlier records. Recordings are deliberately low fidelity, often incorporating ambient sounds and samples of speech.[3] The second album Electronic Sound Constructions was recorded by Matt Jones alone, and is entirely instrumental. The release of By the Roads and the Fields (2003) marked a change of style[4] and since then the band have adopted a more song-focused approach.[5]

Matt Jones, Crescent, circa 2017. Photo by Sam Jones

Discography

Albums
  • Now (Planet / Atavistic, 1995)
  • Electronic Sound Constructions (Snapshot, 1997)
  • Collected Songs (Roomtone, 1999)
    Matt Jones, Crescent, circa 2017. Photo by Sam Jones.
  • By the Roads and the Fields (Fat Cat, 2003)
  • Little Waves (Fat Cat, 2007)
  • Resin Pockets (Geographic, 2017)

Singles
  • "Lost" (Planet, 1994)
  • "Sun" (Planet, 1994)
  • "Sun" / "*" / "Unit System" EP (Atavistic, 1996)

References
  1. "The Balky Mule". www.folkradio.co.uk. 1 August 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  2. Stannard, Joseph (August 2015). "Bristol UFOs". The Wire. No. 378.
  3. Roberts, Randy (February 1997). "Reviews: Crescent -- Now -- Atavistic". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 42.
  4. Neyland, Nick (21 August 2015). "Harder Shade of Dark: The Sound of Bristol Post-Rock". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  5. Bliss, Abi (June 2017). "Soundcheck: Crescent -- Resin Pockets (review)". The Wire. No. 400.
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