I found myself in a weird place with this one.
On one hand, there's a lot about this album that I really loved, mainly that it finds an almost perfect balance between going hard (at least in the context of a post hardcore album) and being accessible. In fact, you could compare it to a lot of pop punk albums, but I think it has a lot more grit than that. I also think the singer has a really effective voice for the kind of music they make and their lyrics are fascinating. Sometimes they border on cringe, but rarely do they ever cross it. They're cryptic, but they frequently get something evocative and strange (in a good way).
On the other hand, I also felt at arm's length. I'll get my petty thing out of the way first, I don't like how the vocals are frequently layered below the guitars. Again, I think the singer has a good voice for the kind of emotionality they're trying to sell, and I do think he's trying to sell it, but it's frequently overwhelmed by the guitars. Which, hey, there's some great guitar shit here. It's just that, to me, the guitars and the vocals sound like they're in conflict with one another over my attention.
Moreover, I think they struggle with really getting to the emotional core with their songs, mainly in how they structure them. I'm talking out of my musical depth here, but it's like they set up a song to hit a certain emotional punch, but rather than seeing that through, they just jump into a new music idea. A new riff or a new time signature or something like that. I was really enjoying a lot of the songs but I can't say any of them felt fulfilling.
And yet, I've come back to a few of the songs every now and then, so there's something there. This might be one of those cases where I like an earlier or later album of their's better. But for me, it's definitely a case of an album I think is very good in a lot of ways, but I'm still disappointed because it's not quite great and they clearly have the capacity to get there.
Also I judged the shit out of this album going into it because I think Crime in Stereo's kind of a cringy name, but as a fan of groups with waaaaaaaaaay worse names, I know how to let that slide eventually.
Favorite Songs: "Third Atlantic" "Vicious Teeth" "Choker"
Log in to comment