Cranes

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Portsmouth, United Kingdom (1986 – present)

Cranes are a / group fronted by Alison Shaw and formed in 1986. They were originally based on the south coast of England in Portsmouth.

The band released their first album on vinyl, Self Non Self in July 1989. The intensity of that album garnered very good reviews and caught the attention of John Peel, who picked up on the album right away, with the group recording a session for him in the album’s first week of release. Shortly afterwards they signed to the label Dedicated (which also became home to Spiritualized and Beth Orton) and went on to record their EP “Espero” in 1990, with the album “Wings of Joy” following a year later. The release of “Wings of Joy” caught the attention of Robert Smith of The Cure who picked the Cranes to open for them on their world tour in 1992. They then went on to record the albums “Forever” (1993), “Loved” (1994), “La Tragedie d’Oreste et Electre” (1995), and “Population Four” (1997).

After a 4 year break, Cranes re-emerged on their own independent label Dadaphonic to release “Future Songs” (2001) and “Particles & Waves” (2004), which saw the band heading in a more electronic direction while retaining the trademark sound of previous releases. In January 2007 the band released a download only album, “Live at Amsterdam Paradiso,” originally recorded in 1991. The show captures the darker, heavier days of the early Cranes and is available only via www.dadaphonic.co.uk.
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Popular tags: shoegaze, dream pop, ethereal, female vocalists, indie  See more

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  • petyainthedark

    so sweet *_*

    Wednesday evening

  • crackityjones92

    OMG! Her voice!!! *-*

    15 days ago

  • luigi_triforce

    Her voice is lovely. So sad that many people do not comprehend this. =/

    16 days ago

  • enid_coleslaw_

    Alison is so hot.

    21 days ago

  • Foggster

    first heard of them when they were opening for the cure , on the 'wish'-tour i guess...let's see what they did since then...;-)

    last month

  • apopagasm

    only been listening to cranes for four days and i'm already thinking about adding them to my top 8

    last month

  • diamantinas_

    oohh, el Loved.. otro disco BIOGRÁFICO. Grandes, los Cranes...

    December 2011

  • JuliusNepos

    Those who keep saying they should not let Alison sing in the band are really missing the point [2]

    December 2011

  • jump29

    cute voice ever.

    November 2011

  • shoegazefan

    best band EVER

    November 2011

  • JBarracudaL

    "her lisp actually makes her stand out" That, and it gives me an erection.

    November 2011

  • SubaruAndrei

    Are we all this beautifuly sad??

    November 2011

  • RussellChap

    Closer to Joy Division or Swans than Slowdive particularly their early work. I kinda lost interest in their later work. Still the Self-non-Self mini-LP is awesome & it's all I need by the Cranes.

    November 2011

  • NarooN

    Don't let her sing? What the hell are those losers on about?

    November 2011

  • Kaeptn_Kalamari

    Adoreable.

    November 2011

  • chrisxanthus

    I love Alison

    November 2011

  • spaceulysses

    i kinda like when they pick up things off ships. u know like those big crates. kinda cool see them live a few times and see them often when driving 2 visit family in delaware.

    October 2011

  • spirasen

    Those who keep saying they should not let Alison sing in the band are really missing the point

    October 2011

  • youareintheair

    don't let her sing. [3]

    October 2011

  • Mr_Hmpft

    I'm soooooo glad I found them! I think I'll spend many years of discovering and enjoying their beautiful music.

    October 2011
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Cranes to play at Bestival !!

30 Nov 2010 | from blog.myspace.com/cranes

Just to let you know Cranes have been confirmed to play at Bestival in 2011!!   We are super excited about it!! Guess who's headlining???  Of, course, it's The Cure!!! …

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