Towering Celtic punk artist No Murder No Moustache (Owen Crawford) is set to release his compelling new album, As Everything Else Decays, on Friday 27th February. With this in mind, we exclusively caught up with Owen and asked for a track by track breakdown of the record:
Intro (A Moment Of Reflection)
This intro has been the go-to set opener at any show where I can get away with playing 90 seconds of acoustic to set the scene, to give people time to wander over from the bar, or in from outside. I feel that it also gives an initial connection with some of the audience through the vulnerability and authenticity of the lyrics and starts off the vibe of the live show which is all about jumping between the fun and the serious.
A Demon In The Dark
This was one of the last songs I wrote for this album, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I liked the “Whoas” in the verse before I wrote any lyrics for it, it might not have ever made it further than a rough idea. Lyrically this is a fictional tale inspired by the many displacements of people through violence throughout history and the longing to return home, even if it means they have to fight.
Dic Penderyn
This song tells the story of Richard Lewis (aka Dic Penderyn) who was wrongfully convicted of the non-fatal stabbing of a soldier during the Merthyr Rising in 1831. Evidence was fabricated against him by the home secretary of the time and he was hanged as an example to other potential rebels. Welsh history is something I’m passionate about when it comes to songwriting, and there’s so many stories to tell that even people in Wales aren’t all familiar with.
Sending the Soldiers In
This song is inspired by a range of historical and current events where a government has sent in military personnel to dispel non-violent protest, or have sent a massively disproportionate military response to non-peaceful rebellion. This was the perfect song to bring in a bit of distorted vocal into the middle, which doesn’t happen a lot on this album but I do like to throw in occasionally.
Wasted
This is a big reflective song for me. I like to try and write as authentically as I can. Sometimes everything just feels so messed up and that kind of 90s “the future is going to be awesome” vibe I grew up with hasn’t really come to anything. Ps. I really did write a letter to the local government as a child about how much dog sh*t was in our street. I’m sure it had a picture I drew to go alongside it too.
Collateral Damage
This was actually the first track I wrote for this album, almost immediately after releasing my first album. It’s very much a feeling about the culmination of 12 years of Tory government; Jacob Rees-Mogg was spouting his BS about the Victorian age while my mortgage went right up, there was no money for anything, but somehow profits and bonuses skyrocketed. It also contains one of my favourite lines from this album: “You know what rhymes with banker.”
As Darkness Falls
This is a song about loss, for anyone who has experienced it in any way. I really wish it was the powerful rock piano ballad that it has the potential to be, but that’s not going to come from me. I actually wrote the original riff that inspired this song with a friend back in the early 2000s, and we came up with the title. But it took 15 years to really get a set of lyrics around it and move the riff to the piano to really do the song justice.
Tested On Animals
So the name No Murder No Moustache is all about how I have serious songs and fun (or ridiculous?) songs. Not many of the fun ones make it onto the albums, but this one did and it’s all about David Cameron trying to convince his wife that he’s an experienced lover because he’s previously had his knob in a pig and that a little porcine role play wouldn’t hurt.
Celtic Skies
This is the very first No Murder No Moustache love song that isn’t about awful relationships (check out “The Ballad Of Red Flag Randy”). Part biographical, part “things that might have happened if we’d made different decisions,” and part poetic license, this is about love, but also about returning home and belonging. There is a Welsh word “Hiraeth” that conveys some of this.
Never Again
Not the most subtle one here, but inspired by the hypocrisy of world leaders who are warmongering, wiping out civilian populations, or standing by and letting that happen from their own safe spaces. On a more fun note, the guitar solo was doubled on the banjo during an out-take for a bit of a joke but I felt that it actually kind of worked due to the switch in scales being used during the solo, so it stayed in.
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One More Round + Second Chance
Originally written as one track, this is the ultimate No Murder No Moustache fun vs serious mix delivered in two and a half minutes. I wanted to throw just the tiniest twinge of ska into the album and use it to get super authentic writing about going out drinking in Cardiff and as a bit of a prequel to “My Friends Who Moved Away” from the last album. However, after two verses I started to think about some of the less fun times, where we had stepped in (in various ways) when coming across people during the night who needed a bit of help and it just kind of went from there. A good chance to jump off the stage and get a bit shouty live too.
Raise Your Glasses
When I listen to an album, I really like it when the final track has a kind of “last song” feel. I know people generally don’t listen start to finish as much anymore, but I very much wanted to close things off with a melancholy, wistful, but ultimately uplifting track to round out the ups and downs of the rest of the album. Inspired by those friendships that you can pick up where you left off even if you haven’t spoken for years, by those memories that are stronger than the reality, and the stories that get repeated over and over again, but no one minds because it’s fun to remember.
Grey Tracksuit – Bonus Track
Clearly a hangover from the 90s I also LOVE bonus tracks on albums (and in some cases my favourite track is the bonus track). They also provide a classic opportunity to change up the style and do something a bit ridiculous. “Grey Tracksuit” is about a riot in July 2024 where one of the racist rioters was hit by a brick in the genitals, thrown by his own side. There is a video of this happening, and it is only a short web search away if you haven’t seen it…”
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Header image by Zack Crawford
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