Crime in Stereo – I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone
Release Date: February 23, 2010
Record Label: Bridge 9
No one expected Crime in Stereo to follow up past releases with 2007's ...Is Dead. No one knew they were about to indulge themselves into a punk rock album that slowly implodes, only to bloom an even brighter star before it finishes. It was hardcore, but only riding the line of receiving a "post" prefix by any means. When all was said and heard, repeat listens of ...Is Dead showcased a foot forward but only in a casual stride.
Crime in Stereo are back and expanding the traditional sense of hardcore into something far beyond the rest of the usual with I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone. Whether it's the mid-album "Young," or the way "Dark Island City" has been morphed into a completely different sound wave from its original track which appeared on 2006's The Troubled Stateside, Crime in Stereo prevails again.
Within the first three songs, the band displays their reach. A vocal circling opener ("Queue Moderns") runs itself into a melodic blaze ("Drugwolf") into one of the best tracks to land on our laptops this year ("Exit Halo"). It's not just the later track's compositional structure that makes it near flawless, but within each vocal part, guitar feedback, and drumming pattern. In essence, the best part about I Was Trying to Describe You to Someone is not the sum of the parts, but the parts that make up the whole.
From the vocal layering on "Odalisque" to whatever-the-hell is happening in the bridge of "Type One," the album is built well because of memorable parts, not songs as a whole. That is the portrait of creativity. It seems today, anyone can write a hook, but it takes a good musician to write a progression or part that leaves a lasting impression beyond a catchy chorus line. Music should be challenging within any genre. Crime in Stereo has certainly set a bar amongst their peers.
Three years since the band declared their death - or simply a possible burial of humble beginnings - the band has sprinted forward and earned an Olympic title of the "P" word. I Was Trying to Describe You To Someone is going to turn heads and only gain more respect and fans in the process. For die hard fans who have been with the band since their Blackout!/Nitro Records days, they will either enjoy the growth or shun it's graduation forward. More so than wanting listeners to catch on, I hope surrounding artists are inspired to run the course as well.
Eh. Was a huge fan of ...Is Dead and all their previous work, but after the first few listens this hasn't really struck in the same way yet. I'll have to give it a few more spins.
Great album, it gets better with each listen. It is a perfect transition from the "Is Dead" record. I don't see too many older fans (i.e. "Explosives", "Stateside") really digging this record, but if you liked the old stuff and you have an open ear, you will be able to enjoy the growth and development of this band through this new record. I really enjoy the spacey and ambient feel to this record, the drums also have a very industrial feel in a lot of the songs. The songwriting is top notch as usual, you can really feel the emotion/anger in Kristian's vocals, he seems to get better every record. Lyrically this album is right up there with "Is Dead", songs speak of addiction and love, and put you in the same room as the songwriter, breaks and bridges in the songs go perfectly with the lyrics and build ups in the songs. To me this record can be described as a combination of "Is Dead", and Brand News' "Devil and God" record. This is just my opinion though.... Everyone will have a different take on this record, because it's simply that kind of record, it makes you think..... It makes you use previous records and musical knowledge to piece together everything into a whole. Once again, just my opinion, but I loved this record, thanks to Crime In Stereo for another gem of a record.
i really just don't like this record. I've had a hard time pin-pointing why, and the only thing I can come up with is that the songwriting just isn't good. Is Dead succeeded because, although the band changed a lot, there was still plenty of roots in their bread and butter sound. I think this album has moved too far away, into territory where they are, for all intents and purposes, a new band. There's not as much flow, the songs don't really stick in your head and I think its fierceness is there but there isn't any reason for it. I don't believe the drama on this record like I did on Is Dead.
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