Customer Reviews

Crusades

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

 

 

Too many influences to mention but these guys have a style all their own. This album is seriously incredible. The most recent band I can compare them to is Bear Vs Shark. Same kind of attitude. Same kind of balls to the wall, take no crap, kick everyone's ass, sort of vibe. "Ghost in the House" is quite possibly one of the most enjoyable songs I've heard in a very long time. And thank the lord people are starting to take notice. They were Spin.com's band of the day (2/1/2006). These guys are rad, do yourself a favor and just listen to the album.

No joke. This isn't one of those random week-long obsessions, either.

The only problem with it that I can see is that it's too short. Only 10 tracks of awesomeness... leaves you hanging there. It's not one of those albums based on like 2 songs and a bunch of fillers, though. Nope. Part of what makes it an incredible CD is that it's one of the few nowdays that sortave flows, portrays a musical story (not in lyrics, but... it's not a random jumble of songs, and it's not one big song split into different parts) that grips you in the first 5 seconds and has you begging for more in the last few. I don't know how to describe their sound... words can't really do it justice. Try theplasticconstellatuons.com for MP3's.

I think the focus on the typical criticisms of homogeneity of sound and volume has been misinterpreted. It is the development of a sound that they can call their own, with the amps turned up and lips swallowing the mic. They continue to embrace a medium of ear busting, anthemic, stadium riff rock but have concurrently condensed it into engaging, compelling, and slightly atonal melodies. Coupled with lugubrious bridges and transitions, urgent hooks, and an urban lyricism, this is 35 minutes I'd gladly put on repeat.

My personal favorite song on this album: men in dark times (this is 4 simultaneous songs, in under 4 minutes).

And for those who are fortunate to have the quartet swing through your city, you would be remiss to not catch them.

Constant bad off-key chord changes and weak noodling/soloing. The instrumental layers don't have any intricate cohesion, it's like the two guitarists are just playing separate things oblivious to each other's presence. The stop/start rhythms aren't arranged in a way that creates an erratic yet focussed flow, they're just random. Most of the songs are mid-tempo drudgery, only on track 7 does the drummer actually contribute a substancial driving beat. I can't get my head around anyone liking this. It's just lazy and random compared to a lot of other bands who play similar music with actual focus, intricacy and cohesion (The Secession Movement and The Dining Room Romance come to mind, and to a lesser extent The Holy Shroud, The Felix Culpa, Operatic, and Controlling The Famous). Even if you prefer reckless abandon to sober composition, these guys don't offer any more in the way of spazzy aggression than they do in focussed songwriting. I have no reservations in saying that this is the product of lazy songwriting and just inherently bad music with no redeeming qualities. I like melodic intricacy, I like erratic aggressive dissonance, but this album is trapped in some musical limbo between the two that achieves none of the effective qualities of either style.