They were once dead, but you wouldn't know it now.
New York (Long Island) act Crime In Stereo have always been somewhat of an oddity in terms of nailing their sound in any one particular genre bracket, with their first couple of full-length efforts (Namely 2004’s “Explosives And The Will To Use Them” and 2006’s “The Troubled Stateside”) comfortably sitting somewhere between the grey area that intersects the merging of punk rock, melodic hardcore and alternative rock.
To confuse matters even more, the five piece act (Comprising of vocalist Kristian Hallbert, guitarist/vocalist Alex Dunne, guitarist Eric Kuster, bassist Gary Cioni ands drummer Scotty Giffin) then released their third full-length effort “Is Dead”. While opinions were divided over the band’s direction and sudden change of sound, it at least proved that they were willing to try their hand at something new and adventurous, regardless of the consequences.
Obviously following up “Is Dead” has been quite a challenge for them, with only a compilation of outtakes (2008’s “Selective Wreckage”, which gathers up previously unreleased recordings from recording sessions between 2005 through to 2007) and a rather hurriedly put together contribution of “War To Bridge Nine Summer Compilation” (2009) emerging from the band within the last three years.
But after a lengthy stint away, Crime In Stereo is back with their fourth effort “I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone”. And once again, the title adorning the album is more than apt.
Running for a mere two minutes, “Queue Moderns” is the first evidence of Crime In Stereo’s rather different directional tact this time around, with the song starting out with some gentle harmonized gang vocals, before lashing out with a heavier sound with screamed vocals for the remainder of the track. The merging of the melodic and aggressive is masterfully done, if somewhat strange in its execution.
“Drugwolf” is no different to the opener with the band opting for a more rock-like approach with the melodic anthem like choruses counterbalanced with the underpinning post hardcore sounding soundtrack, while songs such as “Exit Halo” and “Odalisque” only push the same direction of the former to even greater extremes.
“Not Dead”, “Type One” and the triumphant “Republica” are huge standouts on the album with their big riffs and full-on rock like production, while songs such as the epic “I Am Everything I Am Not” and the brooding “Dark Island City” (Which is a completely revamped and different reworking of the same track that appeared on “The Troubled Stateside”) reveal a greater progressive edge to the band’s songwriting.
Finishing up the album is the upbeat “I Cannot Answer You Tonight”, which is as close as the band get to the sound on their first couple of albums.
If “Is Dead” was the sound of Crime In Stereo pushing the safe confines of their former sound, then “I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone” is Crime In Stereo quite literally smashing down whatever genre confines they had right down to the ground. This is one adventurous album, but one that that clearly shows how much the band have matured as songwriters with a sound that stretches well beyond their humble origins.
For more information on Crime In Stereo, check out - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050481129904.
© Justin Donnelly.
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