When you throw a garage jam, a stoner session, and a lo-fi surf rock trip into a blender and hit “record,” you get This Is Only a Test! The unruly, endearing, and raucously raw debut EP from Crooked Cranes. Hailing from Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, this quartet of high school best friends-turned-bandmates (Josh Faw, Dylan Hornaday, Andrew Bateman, plus Josh’s brother on bass) doesn’t just play music, they unleash it like a beer-fueled basement confession!
Each track on the EP feels like a different course in a chaotic, sun-drenched picnic of emotion and energy. The opener, “GF,” kicks the door open with a distorted, riff-heavy grunge jam that tells a tale as outrageous as it is memorable, your girlfriend cheats on you with your dad, and you’re caught between punching him or giving him props. Yes, seriously. It’s the perfect thesis statement for a band that’s not afraid to ride the line between absurdity and sincerity.
From there, the Cranes pivot effortlessly into “Mehico,” a dusty, narrative-driven rocker about an actual encounter with a cartel jefe in Mexico. “Dolfin” and “Interstate Song” dial things down into a mellower haze: surf-tinged, dreamy, and weirdly introspective, showcasing the band’s ability to smooth out their fuzz while staying true to their lo-fi roots.
“Met a Gurl” yanks you back into thick, crunchy guitars and emotional divorce blues, while “NeWay” closes the record with a perfectly hazy stoner anthem, one that feels like it was made for lazy sunsets, cheap beer, and friends who know all your bad decisions.
What makes This Is Only a Test such a satisfying listen is its refusal to pretend. There’s no gloss, no posing. Just a bunch of friends in the same basement where they lost their virginities (their words, not mine), cranking out music that channels Dinosaur Jr.’s fuzz, Built to Spill’s charm, and The White Stripes’ bite with a youthful slacker spirit that somehow makes everything feel unified.
The EP is like a snapshot; a document of friendship, growing pains, and a kind of unfiltered honesty that’s hard to fake. It’s messy, loud, heartfelt, and a little bit stoned; and that’s exactly why it works.
Crooked Cranes may be fresh on the scene, but This Is Only a Test proves they’re already fluent in the language of garage-born rock ‘n’ roll catharsis.
Play it loud, preferably outdoors, with snacks and friends. Cause this is an auditory picnic that is absolutely worth devouring!
