Customer Reviews

Brand New History

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Econoline Crush is one of the few rock/alternative bands I keep up with. In the past they have delivered a unique and refreshing sound, such as the fast and aggressive style with slightly distorted lyrics found on their previous release, "The Devil You Know". Unfortunately, part of that style has been lost on "Brand New History". The overall tone of this album is much more laid back and slower than before, and that will no doubt be a disappointment to some. Once you get past that however, you'll find that there are some fairly enjoyable tracks on "Brand New History". Songs like "Flamethrower", "You Don't Know What It's Like", and "Tomorrow Starts Today" all live up to the quality one would expect from Econoline Crush, and will easily become stuck in your head long after you listen to them. I still believe "The Devil You Know" is by far their best album, but "Brand New History" is certainly worth attention.

As a promising band beset by frequent lineup changes and inopportune periods of inactivity, Econoline Crush has still managed to produce two full length albums that have unfortunately been relatively ignored by critics and much of the record buying public. With Brand New History, frontman Trevor Hurst leads the Crush through a dozen tracks that swerve between the dark, churning electronica-infused metal that has served them well in their previous work, delivering a wealth of melodic and brooding hooks that set them apart from their contemporaries. The brand new history that the title suggests may well lie in the increasingly impressive songwriting savvy that has grown exponentially from the Vancouver group's debut album Affliction, and which made their second disc, The Devil You Know one of the most tragically underheard alternative rock albums of the last ten years. With production on two tracks by Bob Rock (Bon Jovi, the Cult) and an impressively bittersweet power pop kiss (the final track "Tomorrow Starts Today") providing a parting kick in the shins, Brand New History does not quite equal the excellence of it's predecessor, but there is a dark groove at work throughout that is unique in the current climate of hyper-charged nu metal. Like Stabbing Westward, God Lives Underwater, Gravity Kills and Orgy before them, Econoline Crush offers up a grinding, pulsating gothic stew of electronic thump and metallic whomp, held together by one of the more interesting rock vocalists to emerge in recent years. An impressive effort from a band that deserves to be heard.

This is a great cd! They blend almost all kinds of music into one great CD. I got it yesterday and I have not stopped playing it.

i had never heard of econoline crush, i went out and picked this up because of the single "you don't know what it's like" which i heard on the radio. once i got home, to tell the truth i was mad because track 2 sounded goofy, so i skipped it and they rest for some reason i didn't catch how good it was at first. A couple days later i put it in again and gave it a second chance and i don't know how i missed this, but this cd is GREAT.

I haven't heard any of the other econoline cd's, so i won't comment on how their sound has changed. ( i thought this was their first cd.) first off trevor hurst does very good with the vocals and all the other instruments are played well.

Overall my favorite songs are flamethrower (it's not really goofy at all, dragonball z fans listen to the first few lyrics, sounds like they say the name of a character that threaten to destroy earth and the whole universe.), by the riverside has a very groovy beat ( can't think of how to describe it, very cool though), and tomorrow starts today my fav.

This is a great cd, i don't know how it compares to the other econolines, but i'm going to go out and get them because of this. great cd, if you consider yourself a rock music fan you won't regret purchasing this.

Rarely do I find a band that not only writes good songs, and has a good ear for music, but also performs with exceptional musical talent. Econoline Crush is one of these rarities that I had the good fortune of discovering a few years ago. I became a big fan of theirs from their 2nd album, The Devil You Know, and later bought their debut album, Affliction. Some would say that their sound has softened over the years, but to me it seems that they have becomed more and more seasoned. Affliction has a much heavier and more dissonant sound overall than The Devil You Know and Brand New History, but instead of softening, their music has seemed to have matured and become more sophisticated. They rely more on their musical composition skills now than they did with Affliction. Whether it is their beautiful chord progressions or interesting rhythms that make these songs compostionally as good as they are, or the instrumental excellence shown by every member of the band that makes the performances absolutely incredible, as a band, they are stronger than ever now because both the composition of the songs is excellent--far more sophisticated than those from Affliction-- and their performances are better than ever now, too. The first time I ever listened to this CD I was amazed at the consistant quality of their songs, and all I was thinking was, "This is awesome!" I was so excited for it is such a rare occurance that I have such luck in finding really good music. If you're trying to decide whether or not to buy this album, buy it. It is well worth whatever you pay for it. My personal favorites from this album are Flamethrower and Digging the Heroine, although I love nearly all the others. This is their best album yet, and quite possibly, the best album I own.

Well Econoline Crush's new album has finally been released in the US, i've been waiting for this album a while now, after how great "The devil you know" and "Affliction" were. The album is good its just different somewhat from the previous 2. A lot of the vocals differ a lot from TDYK in a lot of the songs, but dont get me wrong its still a great album. Some of my fav songs are Flamethrower, Digging the Heroin, You dont know what its like, my salvation, and here and there. For anyone who has never heard Econoline Crush before i would suggest listening to "The Devil you Know" first and seeing if you like that, so you can fully appreciate "Brand New History" but Ec is definatly a fantastic band who has done another incredible job on this album.

I've read the reviews some others left of this CD, saying that EC has done better - I disagree. I think this CD is in its own way, different but equally as good as their previous 2. Econoline Crush puts out a sound that no other band can claim to have -- their sound is truly unique, and their lyrics flow very well in most songs.

The two tracks that became moderately well-known radio singles, "You Don't Know What It's Like" and "Make It Right" were prodced by a different person than the rest of the CD and thus have a profoundly different sound - while these two tracks are good, they are more tailored towards marketing the band in a more mainstream way, so the songs, while original, are not as satisfying to me as the rest of this CD. Tracks like "Flamethrower" and particularly "Tomorrow Starts Today" have such fantastic medlys of sound and rhythm coupled with smooth lyrics that I personally can't help but sing along to make this one of my absolute favorite CDs.

I would definitely reccommend this album to anyone who likes industrial metal or techno-rock, but who is tired of the same repeated bland sounds over and over and song swith no meaning. EC has a sound that's all their own and despite what others have said, I think this CD reflects that.

...As for the music, well, I've heard better from Econoline Crush. Both "Afflication" and "Devil You Know" have greater consistancy from song to song. That's not to say that "Brand New History" is horrible - it has some good songs (notably "You Don't Know What It's Like", "Sinking" and "May I Go") - it just has some really forgettable numbers. If you're a fan, it's worth your time and money to buy "Brand New History". If you're intrigued by the band but are not familiar with them, try their other albums first.

I learned of Econoline Crush the same way I learned about the band that introduced me to them. I learned about Marvelous 3, they taught me about Buckcherry. Looking at Buckcherry's website, I noticed they were coming around these parts with a band called Econoline Crush. Being my curious stuff, I picked the album up. Very awesome. The lead singer has a jazzish style to him on a lot of songs. The guitars are typical rock and roll. The drum beats switch from rock to hiphopish type stuff. The presence of a DJ on some tracks really surprised me (for them to be touring with Buckcherry). It's not really my style of music (on most tracks), but you can really feel and hear the rock and roll passion in his voice. I love it. It'll take a while to get used to, but my advice is if you want to find something a little different, go for this album.

I have been spinning this record all day and I think I can finally make a pretty informed review.... I like it. It is a very cool disc. I think that EC is on a trend of getting more and more radio friendly with every release. Not to say it is a cop out or a sellout...it's not. It is not as heavy as The Devil You Know. It still has it's synthesized industrial but not industrial flare to it, and Trevor Hurst is as cool as ever. It's just a little but different, but totally E.C. It is still heavy as hell in some points, but more melodic at the same time. The 2 songs produced by Bob Rock are quite catchy. Check this one out, I think you will like it.