Black Cross are hugely refreshing for a number of reasons. They don’t fit into any particular genre, their music is invigorating, brimming full of energy and their former band name was the Black Widows. OK so the latter is a personal favourite and sounds like some sort of biker gang, but thanks to the name change which they were forced into by another band, they finally decided on Black Cross. The four piece are comprised of former Grace of God and National Acrobat members, and to those familiar with either, you will understand what an interesting mix you find when putting them in the melting pot together. If you could maybe imagine the Hives charged up on speed and special brew, you kind of get a feel for Black Cross.
Twelve quick fire tracks spanning 26 minutes make up the album and it begins brightly enough with the retro-esque ‘Art Offensive’ which launches itself at you from the off. ‘Screaming from the top of the stairs’ is a little less attention grabbing but never the less holds well, with the gruff vocals of frontman Rob Pennington shining through. ‘Black Market Cigarettes’ and ‘Icebox in the alley’ both feature a silky bass line, with the latter bursting with energy from the moment Pennington screams ‘What are we fighting for’ in a pure rock and roll snippet.
‘Gift to the Sea’ slows the pace down sevenfold from previous efforts and fails to ever really get going, in contrast to the tracks which come before it, which capture the listeners imagination from the off. ‘Just go outside’ could be adapted to a few of our forum members (Joking kids !) and is a punk fuelled riot of noise which sticks out as a highlight of the album. ‘Commercial life’ is a nicely shaped chunk of well thought out melodic punk, but the albums inconsistency is once again brought to light with the uninspiring semi-spoken word ‘Peking man in knight suit’. ‘Bittas walk’ picks the album up, showcasing some marvellous song arrangement and more feisty moments from the impressive ex Grace of God vocalist Pennington.
‘Plank walker’ screams out sixties amd seventies rock at you with it’s opening gambit, otherwise the song is nothing more than a filler in comparison to other more thoughtful tracks, although the clever climax offers some respite. ‘V.K.H.C’ is a mere 43 seconds long, and leaves you pondering why it was there to begin with, but the album ends on a high with ‘Lifelong Cell’ which stamps it’s authority and features bits and pieces of Black Cross we have become used to over the duration of it’s dozen tracks.
Ultimately, Black Cross have formulated an album loaded with powerful anthems and guitar crunching hooks, which on the whole comes together well. They are never tied down to any particular genre, which can only be a good thing, but the album is let down by a couple of sloppier efforts which detract from shining lights such as ‘Just go outside’ and ‘Bittas walk’. On the whole a solid effort and one which could be worth looking into.
Jay