Hubert Selby Jr. Infants: Have you ever seen a crow​?​.​.​.​ or an eel?

Dublin-based Hubert Selby Jr. Infants landed on the radar last year with their debut EP, Good Evening, Pricks! It’s… the Hubert Selby Jr. Infants.

With a title evoking a Flann O’Brien charm, Good Evening Pricks!’ was a wonderful trip down memory lane that led to the evolution and groundswell of post-hardcore. All told, it saw Hubert Selby Jr. Infants break the mould of all the privileged, watered-down indie sound-a-likes that continue to clog up ‘all platforms’.

With the release making our inaugural Top 25 EPs of 2023, the four-piece (Jamie Grimes – guitars/ vocals; Peter McNally – guitar; Andrew Bushe – drums; and Kunal Nandi – bass) make it a quick turn-around with their the equally provocatively titled follow-up, Have you ever been a crow… or an eel?  

An EP that doesn’t stray too far from its predecessor both sonically and thematically, in fact it wouldn’t have been a surprise had the two releases been combined as the band’s debut LP.

In any case, it’s evident that Hubert Selby Jr. Infants are experiencing a fertile creative period, starting with Have you ever been a crow… or an eel?’s opening cut, Musketeers. A Lou Barlow-inspired concoction of message music and diesel-powered Squirrel Bait thrum-a-rolla, it continues on the EP’s penultimate track and lead single, Misery Hill.

Meanwhile, with a Ben Hur-era Bitch Magnet vibe, People Skills is a withering jam with the right dose of invective for all the barry bullshitters out there (“You’ve got the people skills of a snake oiled salesman / Corrupt policeman”). It’s street level Dublin as Grimes gives us the dish with both barrels.

Finishing with Yes / No, Hubert Selby Jr. Infants show a slightly different side to their persona, shaking off the sparks of post-hardcore and slowing things down in what is a wall of stoner fuzz that might just have you reaching for those dusty Kyuss CDs. Perhaps a leftfield move, however what this underlines is the band’s ultimate reality, with each member unafraid to wear their influences on their sleeves.

From a band that continues to carry the flag for one of the most vital artistic periods of our generation, Have you ever been a crow… or an eel? is a seamless continuation from Good Evening Pricks! It’s… the Hubert Selby Jr. Infants. Over the past 12 months there is something that has positively risen from the ashes of ’90s emo and post-hardcore fandom, and alongside fellow newcomers Achers and Big Hug, Hubert Selby Jr. Infants are in the thick of it. And from the sidelines, it’s interesting to see it all play out.

Have you ever been a crow… or an eel? is streaming now and available on vinyl via Scene Report Records on January 18. Pre-order from Bandcamp.