With their latest cover single, Crooked Cranes launch themselves into the rock scene with a thunderous salute to the genre’s heavyweights. Reimagining “Gonna Leave You” from Queens of the Stone Age’s cult album Songs for the Deaf, the North Carolina-based quartet deliver a version that is as emotionally charged as it is unapologetically gritty.
Formed in the tight-knit town of Fuquay Varina by lifelong friends Josh Faw, Dylan Hornaday, and Andrew Bateman, and joined by Josh’s younger brother Addison on bass, the Cranes craft a sound steeped in the alt-rock legacies of Dinosaur Jr., Built to Spill, The White Stripes, and The Who. But this isn’t mimicry, it’s transformation.
Their rendition of “Gonna Leave You” is born not in a polished studio but in the same basement where they all grew up, infusing every note with a sense of memory, rebellion, and raw authenticity. While staying true to the jagged groove and lyrical bite of the original, Crooked Cranes inject their own youthful urgency and genre-blending instincts, giving the track a lo-fi immediacy that feels both nostalgic and newly alive.
The lyrics still cut deep, “Everything scars the skin / Push it in, break it off,” but the band’s delivery adds a layer of personal conviction, as if they’re not just covering a song but purging something of their own. Their decision to debut with a cover might seem humble, but it’s a bold statement: this is a band that honors the past while pounding a new path forward.
For fans of stoner rock and indie grit alike, Crooked Cranes’ “Gonna Leave You” is not just a tribute, it’s a pulse. A signal that rock’s raw spirit is alive and well, and ready to roar from a basement in Fuquay Varina straight into your headphones!
