A nice chat with Crywank

Riding off the finale of their US tour, Crywank discusses sobriety, fans, and the future

Crywank is a DIY anti-folk band based out of Manchester, England. With songs like “I Am Shit” and albums like “Narcissist on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” they strike a balance between irreverence, sarcasm, and soul-crushing misery.

The lyrics are self-effacing yet often profoundly narcissistic, and perfectly self-aware of that narcissism. Crywank is built upon this contradiction. Their name makes them a difficult band to recommend, yet the juxtaposition of two activities which generally do not mix is intentional and meaningful. And yes, it’s also funny! That’s the point.

The tonal inconsistency at the core of Crywank’s identity is perhaps why their music has resonated so deeply with their devoted fanbase. It is reflective of the human experience. Sometimes we are most narcissistic when we are most self-loathing, and sometimes laughing at yourself is the only way to get through the day. In this way, listening to Crywank feels like looking into a mirror during your darkest moments. For those times when you feel like your pain is perfectly unique, Crywank is there to remind you that it’s not.

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1. How was the US Tour?

Biggest takeaways? Any difficulties? Favorite things? 

The US tour was a lot of fun but also a lot of work. I spent years booking my own tours around Europe and I’d be very keen to give myself days off to see cities and stay with people but that wasn’t really feasible within the US. It was a lot of shows and a lot more travelling than I’m used to so it really took it out of me.

I’d love to give a list of favourite things, but a lot of the tour was just seeing venues, service stations, motels and driving. My favourite thing was probably getting to hang with my friend Jules (who plays bass in the band chastity who I toured with, and has a solo project called Guard Petal) and my getting to see my friend Geneva (who booked my Australian and New Zealand tours). Oh, one of my favourite bands from when I was a teenager got in touch asking to perform at some of the shows, so I got to play twice with foot ox which was amazing and a nice surprise.

It was also really nice meeting fans and also meeting in person people who I had only known from the internet previously. There was a lot of difficulties during the tour, we had to take the van in three times for a number of issues which was frustrating. I also had to check myself on my own health and behaviour and quit drinking this tour. That has been difficult, but I’ve just hit day forty today.

  2. How has your songwriting evolved over the last few years? Sources of inspiration?   

I don’t really know how it’s evolved to be honest. I think if anything I have become more trepidatious about what I want to share about myself due to a lot of my songs becoming a lot more popular than I ever expected. I occasionally get a song that just flows out of me, but a lot more of my songwriting now is less stream of consciousness and is a longer more thought out process. I’ve also been working on some narrative based concept songs.

Musically I take a lot of inspiration from musicians who I know. I find ‘the last whole earth catalog’ very inspiring and I can’t sing their praises enough. I also really like the music of Jordaan Mason, COMMUTED, Gordian Stimm, Living Hour and Foot Ox.

When it comes to musicians I don’t know it’s probably Choir Boy, Alex G and NNAMDI who I have been listening to the most recently.

  3. How have you liked engaging with your fans? How would you describe the Crywank community?

I love our fans, they give me a lot of joy. A lot of them make fan art and memes and have a really strong connection with what we’ve made which gives me a lot of worth. I don’t really have a strong description that can cover all the listeners of crywank. The more I tour the more different sorts of people seem to connect to and take in interest in our music. There is definitely a subset of very obsessed fans though who are maybe more invested in the project than even I am, but of those I’ve met they’ve all been very sweet. It’s just sometimes daunting when you meet someone who will ask you questions about the band on things I’ve once said in an interview which I’ve long since forgotten.

  4. What’s on the horizon? 

I don’t really know beyond touring at this point. I end 2023 with a U.K. and Ireland tour with COMMUTED. I have a single recorded which I need to get set up to release which I’ve done with Guard Petal, and I’m still pottering away at songwriting but I don’t know with what goal in mind yet. Me and Dan will be touring Europe in 2023 and I’ll maybe be doing some sporadic USA shows whilst I still have my visa to perform. I wish I had some big announcements of future plans but crywank seems to be winding down to some degree. We both still love it but it’s hard having one facet of you that comes to define your whole existence, and consequently how you spend most of your time. I write music impulsively, as does Dan, so we will both still create things, but after these tours I kinda just wanna watch a bunch of cartoons and play a bunch of video games. Maybe try and finish one of the books I started writing in my early twenties.