This is Only a Test by Crooked Cranes could only be born from smoke-filled basements, decades-old friendships, and the charming chaos of small-town rebellion. Hailing from Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, this four-piece, formed by high school friends Josh Faw, Dylan Hornaday, and Andrew Bateman, with Faw’s younger brother on bass, presents an unfiltered, unpolished, and unapologetically honest EP that straddles the lines between garage rock, stoner grooves, and raw storytelling.
Opening with the unhinged jam “GF,” the band sets the tone loud and dirty. It’s a bruising tale of betrayal—where the girlfriend cheats with the narrator’s dad—and the existential crisis that follows veers hilariously between rage and reluctant admiration. The fuzzed-out guitars blaze with a nostalgic grunge energy, while the singer’s drawled delivery keeps things loose and tongue-in-cheek.
By the time “Dolfin” rolls in, things settle into a more melodic sway. A shimmery guitar riff flirts under the cool, thick vocals of a frontman clearly unbothered, trying to coax a name out of a mysterious girl with the line, “Hey pretty girl, tell me what’s your name? Standing in a corner, driving me insane.” It’s laid-back and charismatic, bringing a smoky warmth to the tracklist.
“Met a Gurl,” meanwhile, drops into heartbreak territory, trading bravado for bruises. With a sullen riff and almost murmured vocals, it tells of love lost in a tone that’s as disaffected as it is sincere. “I was blind to play the game / Left me drowning in the flame,” he sings, like someone already halfway through the next beer.
This is Only a Test may not reinvent rock ‘n’ roll, but it doesn’t need to. It thrives in its own basement-built, buzzed-up world. It’s grimy, funny, sad, and real, and that’s exactly what makes it matter.
Review by: Naomi Joan