Wings of Joy

While Wings of Joy was the full-length debut as such by Cranes, all their earlier work on initial cassettes and EPs over the previous years meant they arrived with a kind of overwhelming force and presence, the balance of Alison Shaw’s intensely delicate singing and the looming power of the band as a whole resulting in awe-inspiring contrasts. While “Starblood” captured the quartet at its most overwhelming, a sculpted power not far off from Swans, it let songs like the singles “Adoration” and “Tomorrow’s Tears” act as intriguing introductions to the curious.