TASH: Crybaby – single review + video premiere

TASH

Crybaby

DL

Out Now!

BIG BOYS DON’T CRY-AY-AY (as Sandra Bernhardt once memorably paraphrased in Hudson Hawk) but that’s exactly what TASH expects of their man. Described as being “for the girls and boys desperate to squeeze a tiny tear from their boyfriend’s eyes”, TASH want to normalise men crying through the emotional turmoil of rock music.

While intended as an attack on male bravado, the lyrics are wonderfully tongue in cheek and could equally be read as an attempt to create a mate who is a more appropriately deep kind of cool, or possibly even just an anthem for some kind of offbeat fetish. Like the John Waters cult classic of the same name, there is a gritty edge to the song but also a knowing sense of fun.

Crybaby is a smashing blast of crunchy guitar based punk-pop, bolstered by lead singer Tara Noble’s razor-sharp vocals and a chorus to die for. The frenetic pace pauses only briefly halfway through for her to ask, deadpan and harnessing the spirit of The Waitresses via Daphne & Celeste, ‘whaddyou mean you’re not even sad?’. The whole thing has a brash, energetic charm that keeps it firmly on the entertaining side of angsty and begs for repeat listens.

The video for the track, premiered here on Louder Than War, is a perfect match for the music – a cheeky mix of lo-fi and punchy, red-drenched style that effectively showcases Tara’s chops as a front woman through a combination of live band and storytelling setups.

TASH are a London/Brighton based trio and Crybaby is their third single. If it doesn’t squeeze a tiny tear out of the cold hearts of listeners, then it should at least raise a big smile.

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All words by Susan Sloan. More of her work for Louder Than War is available on her archive. Find her on Instagram as @thesmureviews and view Susan’s website here.