Saurian – Down At The Crown (2024)
While Saurian may have their sights set on putting their big sound in the big time, they are fiercely loyal to their hometown, Dunedin. At around 135,000 people, the second largest city on New Zealand’s South Island features idyllic scenery, coastal views, and Victorian architecture, as well as The Crown Hotel which claims to be the city’s oldest pub and has attained legendary status as a local music venue.
In their new single, ‘Down At The Crown’, Saurian advocates for The Crown by addressing the city’s lack of noise ordinance exemptions for music venues. Others, including Otago Daily Times editorial artist Austin J. Milne, have lamented the loss of music venues over the years due to this issue. Now according to an article in the ODT and a Reddit stream, some locals are concerned about the viability of The Crown in the face of a housing development being built next door to it. This brings us to ‘Down At The Crown’ which Saurian unveiled live at The Crown Hotel on May 4th.
The single is an aggressive bit of hard rock with gritty guitars and handclaps on two and four. Frontman Karl Brinsdon describes a rollicking time playing and listening to music that is interrupted by the police. Some nice harmonic changes in the song’s interior lead to the chorus where Brinsdon sings, “Never gonna turn us down/ Rockin’ it down at the Crown” making it clear how he feels about noise complaints.
With a heavy dose of the rebel spirit, ‘Down At The Crown’ is a fine piece of rock and roll. Although, like so much of Saurian’s music, it teeters on the edge of 80s rock mimicry, their ability to find lyrical relevance continually lifts their music out of tribute-band status. The plight of a local music venue and the potential loss of it (something to which communities worldwide can relate no matter the circumstances) gives the band a sense of urgency it might not otherwise have and breathes life to the rocker as rebel mythos that musicians have long since wrung dry of any meaning. Fittingly the single features artwork from Milne which pictures The Crown’s owner Chin Jones sitting outside his pub.
Find out more about Saurian on their official website, Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
Listen to more hard rock tracks on The Other Side Reviews Hard Rock playlist:
