This is an energetic, straightforward new rock album by the band Crawlspace, formed in the mid-’80s out of the remnants of the ahead-of-their-time Bloomington, Indiana ’70s punk band The Gizmos. Rock music isn’t usually approached with the degree of honesty or unpretentiousness that Crawlspace uses to communicate a sense of the gladness that can come through making music for its own sake. This open quality makes the album an especially welcome listen.
The album conveys the impression that the musicians involved in the recording are passionate about what they are doing, and are able to intelligently reach into the history of the genre to recreate a certain mold of sound — there are vestiges of the Mick Taylor-era Rolling Stones’ musical technique in the album’s instrumentation, as well as methodical allusions to many Detroit bands from the ’70s such as The MC5 and The Stooges — in its original incarnation as an enjoyable musical form created by fans of the style. “Ignorance is Bliss” will certainly appeal to people looking for an authentic sound created by aficianados themselves.
Gulcher Records
7/10
