Tragedy Rocks by Crimea

Tragedy Rocks, the debut from Camden indie outfit the Crimea, lived two lives: first as a self-released edition the band sold directly to fans, then, with different recordings, as the Warner Bros. release that arrived in 2005. Either way, it's a record of wobbly, swooning grandeur, all lurching tempos, lopsided melodies and choruses that swell out of nowhere.

Davey MacManus sings like a man falling apart and enjoying the view, and the songs are just what the Guardian had in mind when it called them "mini-epics", little dramas that crank up the stakes and then collapse in a heap. "Baby Boom" had already been out in the world, turning up on countdowns in 2003. Secrets of the Witching Hour came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.