Cranes - Wings Of Joy

The Cranes are one of the most underrated bands of the late eighties. Their music has so many layers and facets — from searing guitars and melodic bass to melancholic strings and piano arrangements. Alison Shaw’s angelic vocals are soft and childlike, yet they fit their style perfectly, drawing you into a strange, gothic, dreamlike musical landscape of fantasy. Their influences are clear — Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, The Cure — but the result is something unique. From the beauty of the opener “Watersong,” through the fierceness of “Starblood,” to the uplifting fade-out of “Adoration,” you’d have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by the atmospheric music of this band.