One of the most intriguing post-hardcore bands to emerge in the 90s was Craw. However, their first three records — considered by many to be American underground classics — have been out of print for more than a decade.
A few folks are hoping to change that. The label Northern Spy is teaming with respected music journalist and longtime Craw fan Hank Shteamer to reissue the band’s first three full-length albums (Craw, Lost Nation Road and Map, Monitor, Surge) housed in a deluxe six-LP box set. Shteamer considers Craw’s early output essential: “Anyone interested in dark, heavy, complex rock/metal—everything from Tool, Meshuggah and King Crimson to Neurosis, Kayo Dot, Don Caballero, Today Is the Day, Isis, Dazzling Killmen and Gorguts — needs to know this music. Each of Craw’s first three full-lengths is an endlessly involving labyrinth in which elegiac beauty presses up against nightmarish ugliness.”
A Kickstarter launched in May but the albums will only come out if the fundraiser reaches its $18,500 goal. The label is now offering the box for a preorder price of $99 plus shipping vs. an earlier advertised price of $215. Each album will be remastered for vinyl. You can also preview the tracks on Bandcamp.