Having first encountered New Jersey‘s Crime In Stereo as a result of their recent split with Kill You Idols I was interested to see how they would cope with a whole album’s worth of tracks to play around with. Pitched as a traditional NJ-style hardcore band it’s perhaps crucial to note that while the traditional HC sound is definitely prevalent, there are moments when CIS stray into a more updated and melodic sound, like that of Stretch Armstrong or Strike Anywhere‘s slower moments.
Take ‘No Gold Stars For Nationalis’ as an example. With the heavy riffing that characterises bands like Ensign or Kid Dynamite there is still an inescapably melodic sound that is translated through Kristian Hallbert’s throaty vocals and the interplay between Alex Dunne and Shawn Gardner’s guitars. There is a tendency for CIS to sound a touch cluttered at times ‘Warning: Perfect Sideburns Do Not Make You Dangerous’ and ‘Play It Loud Fuckers’ sound like rough demos because there is so much that doesn’t fit. The relentless use of natural harmonics drags after the first dozen or so times that they are uninventively employed and the contrast in overall quality when the heavy choruses kick in is notably stark.
CIS demonstrate that when they put their collective heads down and crack out some energetic, abrasively melodic hardcore, as on ‘Amsterdamned!’ and ‘What A Strange Turn Of Events’, they are a truly impressive band. Everything about these tracks is perfectly calculated, from the tight-as-fuck stops to Hallbert’s shouting complimenting his singing. The energy of ‘Here’s To Things Gone Wrong’ is infectious as hell, pushing through the heavy riffs with a pounding bassline and the catchy vocal lines that retain all their harshness while being immensely singalongable. Yes, that is a word.
It’s clearly to Crime In Stereo‘s advantage that ‘Explosives..’ is a fairly diverse album that retains a cogent hardcore theme throughout. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a more traditional style of HC than the current glut of whateveritscalledcore, but it has sufficient appeal to draw in even the most closed of Funeral For A Friend fan.