As Crooks & Nannies, Madel Rafter and Sam Huntingdon make songs that give voice to your most intrusive thoughts. Take this line from the West Philly duo’s new song, “Sorry”: “I’m sorry for all that I am and everything I’ve ever done.” It’s the second single from their forthcoming No Fun EP, following up on “control,” with its depiction of mental health struggles. “Sorry,” on the other hand, centers on a single crucial moment in the life of its writer and singer.
Huntingdon wrote “Sorry” in one sitting around the time of her transition. “I had recently made the decision to stop ignoring the fact that I was transgender but was struggling to grapple with what that meant for me personally,” she said in a press release. The vocals you hear on the final version were captured in a demo take the same day, and that spontaneity is palpable on the final version, which vacillates between extremes of amped-up and broken-down. Sonically, those wild swings are mirrored by shifts from quiet, emo-infused strums to an anthemic, lighters-up chorus. “Sorry” is a raw and powerful depiction of a dark night of the soul in real time.
Listen to the song below. Crooks & Nannies are releasing No Fun on January 13th, 2022 for Grand Jury Music, and are supporting Rubblebucket on their Earth Worship tour at the Philly Brooklyn Bowl on March 23rd. More information can be found at the WXPN Concerts and Events page.