Crime In Stereo are doing really well right now, justifying their switch from being a tech punk band to a group with more than a passing resemblence to Brand New. ‘Is Dead’ is still one of my favourite records of the last 12 months and, with the band on a crest of a wave, this odds and sods is out on Bridge 9. It’s aimed at bridging the gap between ‘Is Dead’ and ‘The Troubled Stateside’ and features a clutch of b-sides from both records.
And in the main it’s pretty good. There’s definite influences from both eras of the band and while that can make the listening process a little less cohesive than usual (and the tracklisting and selection is one of my favourite parts of ‘Is Dead’) as individual tracks this is a solid record. Track two, which I believe is called ‘Everywhere and All The Time’ or ‘Two’ depending on which retail outlet’s website you peruse, sounds like Brand New circa ‘Jude Law…’ with gang vocals. It’s actually a brilliant bridge between the last two records and makes this album worthwhile on it’s own.
At 10 songs and a shade of 20 minutes this record doesn’t hang about. The longer songs are the better ones – ‘Four’ is really good, while ‘The Bride’ takes me back to a day when I’d listen to Bigwig and those type of Fat Wreck bands and wish I could actually use a skateboard. I love ‘Is Dead’ more than the previous record, but if you’re a fan of either CIS era there’s enough here to warrant a purchase.