CRAN “REJET” (2024), Une Vie Pour Rien Records

There’s a saying in professional sports when an older player has been playing great for years but there’s uncertainty about how long that can last: “Don’t take them for granted.” I feel this way about most French oi!. The standards they’ve established and what seems like almost effortless excellence can almost start to feel routine or expected. 

Among current bands I consider among the head of the pack are Cran, who return after their 2023 debut LP with this 3-track single or EP.

Although there is absolutely no filler here, the first song, “Reject”, is the standout, with guitarist Ben Decays being unleashed a bit towards the end. The short solo, if slowed down a bit, would not sound out of place among the recordings fellow countryman Luc Nicolas-Morgantini did at blues bars on the West Side of Chicago during the late 1970s.

Don’t take them for granted.

PS!: They will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 17th and in Gary, Indiana on April 18th.