Brian Crook doesn’t make solo albums very often. He doesn’t need to. The Joshua Tree, Calif., resident is the co-lead singer and writer in the Renderers, and if he ever makes it back to New Zealand, which he left seven years ago, the Terminals would probably be happy to welcome him back. At any rate, the latter combo (full disclosure: I put out one of their singles back in 1996) never replaced him with another lead guitarist, and when you hear Crook on The World Just Eats Me Up Alive, you can well imagine why. If a tune requires long, spiraling lines of fuzz or terse, white-knuckled accompaniment, he’s right there. But Crook also stands ready to drop in abstract starbursts, acid-scored drones or sonic black holes that’ll put your heart in arrest for the duration of a song. He doesn’t just make a whale of a noise—he makes you feel like it matters.
Since Crook is a team player, he’s not going to let his contributions put a band’s music out of balance. The Renderers wouldn’t be the group they are, after all, without the beauty of Maryrose Crook’s singing to balance her husband’s beastly groan. In fact, Brian Crook is backed by both bands on this LP, whose seven tracks were recorded over a span of eight years. But focus on these performances. His voice (whose range has expanded over time to attain parched-yet-nimble rasp as well as the horrified holler of yore) and his corrosive guitar playing (which is simply better than ever) share the center. Every once in a while, you need to stare into the dark without any light to distract you. When that time comes, The World Just Eats Me Up Alive is at your service.
—Bill Meyer
