Sometimes the best records are those you just don’t expect to be so great. There’s no doubting Crime In Stereo were a good band; ‘The Troubled Stateside’ and ‘Explosives And The Will To Use Them’ were records inspired by their New Jersey roots, influenced by bands such as The Movielife, Kill Your Idols and Gorilla Biscuts. There were riffs, raucous vocals and impassioned melodies. They were a band pissed off with various things and not afraid to tell the world. But something changed. And that change is ‘Crime In Stereo Is Dead’. And that change has made this band into a fucking brilliant one.
Leave your preconceptions at the door because Crime In Stereo circa 2007 are not the band that once released records on skate punk indie label Nitro. And, to be fair, they’re no longer your typical Bridge 9 band either. This is a record that’s inspirational. It’s a completely different entity from their previous records. Call those the naivety of youth or a band desperate to find their sound, call it what you will. But this is the real deal. It’s a record that shows musical growth in the same way Brand New did as they jumped to ‘Deja Entendu’. It’s a record as passionate as any by Thursday, using dynamics to really make their point. It’s a record that’s so strong it takes a lot of listens to really get it.
And the best part is it’s completely unexpected. I’d never have guessed CIS where capable of writing a track like ‘Orbiter’, a song which features a breathy, whispered vocal and a slow, brooding bass-line. And while there are the faster songs – ‘Vicious Teeth’ is about as fast as the band get – the best songs are those that flex their songwriting muscles. ‘Choker’ sounds a little Brand New-y as it turns out, but then you could say ‘Animal Pharm’ and ‘Third Atlantic’ also showcase the band’s new sound in such brilliant ways.
Older fans are likely to be bemused by the band’s decision to slow things down, but the end result is a record which doesn’t really sound like anything else at the minute. It’s energetic and passionate without ever needing to sound like anything the band have done before. In short, this is probably the record that will take Crime In Stereo to the next level. Not MTV-style, but just by writing an absolutely incredible album. Expect this to make the top 10 lists come the end of the year…