| CD REVIEW Crime In Stereo |
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Band : Crime In Stereo Say, what's up? A new album by Crime In Stereo, when they've only just released one...Oh my God, that's already a year ago...with late October 2007's Crime In Stereo Is Dead (review by yours truly posted 15/11/2008, and well worth checking out if you're into finding out some facts by the band, you know)? No man, this is a compilation, and one well worthy to get too, because actually, one shouldn't call this selection of old Crime In Stereo album a compilation at all! And don't call it a full-length either, because the 10 songs only last a good 23 minutes! So, what's up? Well, as it turns out three songs (find "Takbir", "The Bride", and "Four X's" – with that funny French girl's question at the beginning -gathered towards the end of this mini-CD)were originally intended for a split EP release with Capital, a project which eventually fell through, the songs put on the shelf. Stylistically, I'm told these songs fall in quite nicely with the material on the band's sophomore album The Troubled Stateside (which I've still failed to get myself – I swear I have the firmest intention to change that fact, as CIS is really an outstanding band). The song "Love" was apparently written back in 2005 and has an appealing simplicity about it! It was also intended for the TTS album, but then taken out, as was "When The Women Come Out To Dance" (which was then used on the Fuel, Transit, Sleep EP on Nitro (hum...a little detail not previously included in the band's biography). The lengthily titled but rather short (only 46 seconds in duration) "These People Ought To Know Who We Are And That We Are Here" was originally intended for the Is Dead track-list, but was eventually set aside (looking at the text, it was a perfect way for singer Kristian Hallbert – forgive me for mis-typing his family name in my earlier review – to express his feelings concerning being terminally ill). Also an Is Dead outtake, is Let Me Take You Out, a little Ambient-like (no real drums included, the guitars being somewhat airy, and singing also somewhat sedate, and I do suspect sóme electronics being used in the outro notes) diddy Hallbert recorded on the spur of the moment after a planned date told him that it wasn't really "like that". In the same (musical) mood, but different, is this album's opening shortie (only 53 secongs long) "(Panned Auras)", a home recording with airy but sedate guitar, on top of which the singer just declamates a short text in a husky voice. Right...have I forgotten anything? Oh yes, there's still "Desertbed", also a Is Dead outtake...and eventually there's "Everywhere And All The Time", a completely new song recorded this Spring! Let it be noted that this album is also released on vinyl (which is exactly the format I will be trying to get this little jem for my collection). I've no idea whether any of the mini-album's songs were posted at their pages at either purevolume.com or MySpace (forgot to check while I could, and I'm writing this at home, where I have no Internet connection, see), so if you need to check, go ahead. I'm can tell with some asurance that anyone familiar with the band's previous and somewhat varied outings will not be sorry to just go out and get him/herself the album without pre-buying listening sessions! Personally, I like this even better than last year's album, and I'm adding this to my "Best Albums Of 2008"-list. And, as this is not réally a compilation (granted, it contains older songs, but then they were never released before, were they?) I'm rating it too! 98/100 Tony. |