THE
CRAVATS - RUB ME OUT
An aspect of
Rudimentary Peni causing them to stand out from the pack was their
willingness to experiment with the Punk rock form and of course, this
same 'experimental' description could also be said about Crass and
likewise the Crass Records label. Whilst the Crass audience would
greedily and very happily lap up the more conventional Punk (or
should that be Anarcho Punk?) as played by Flux Of Pink Indians,
Dirt, and Conflict; the Crass record label was choosing to not play
it safe with releases of that particular style but to deviate and
release records by more 'experimental' bands. A fine example of this
being The Cravats, whose 7" single Rub Me Out was the
next release on Crass Records.
Firm favourites of
John Peel and having six singles and an LP under their belts already,
The Cravats had come into contact with Crass via their mutual
connection with the Small Wonder record label. A lot of bands would
have dearly loved to have a record released on the Crass label not
only for the promise of being brought to the attention of a large
audience but for the kudos of being associated with a band of such
integrity as Crass. Why The Cravats should be favoured over so many
others didn't really make sense at first until realising that
precisely because it didn't make sense was all the more reason for it
to happen.
With their angular,
jarring rhythms laced with free-flowing saxophone and shouty,
abstract vocals; though not overtly political The Cravats were
touching upon an essence of freedom that was almost impossible to
define.
If Punk was ever
anything to do with free expression then by definition The Cravats
were a Punk band. If by appearing on Crass Records defined a band as
being a 'Crass band', then by definition The Cravats were a Crass
band. In one fell swoop, however, Rub Me Out by The Cravats was
destroying any and all attempts to label, pigeon-hole and contain.
The Cravats were
non-conformist and slyly brilliant.
Rub Me Out was a
spanner in the works.
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