Crime In Stereo - I was trying to describe you to someone

I took my time to write about Crime In Stereo's new record. The Long Island-based five-piece have always been at a special place within the hardcore scene. The direction taken with 2007's 'Is dead' set them even more apart and with 'I was trying to describe you to someone', they go further than we would have ever thought.

Let's not talk about the cover. Yes, it's awful. Yes, it's the singer. But there's gonna be enough to say about the music. With 'I was trying to describe you to someone', Crime In Stereo pick up right where they left off with 'Is dead' but they're pushing much further into experimentation. The eerie intro 'Queue moderns' starts off the album with an ambient tone, the rhythm is slow, provided by a drum machine, and the vocals are ethereal. But quickly, the fast pace the band are famous for comes in and the song gets into a seething melodic hardcore section with singer Kristian Hallbert's yells. This quiet/loud dynamic is to be found throughout the record, so much that the first listens are quite blurry when it comes to distinguish songs. But with time the space and the nuance featured on this album become clearer and the great work executed by the band and their producer Mike Sapone becomes obvious. The rhythm of the album is a very good point, the drums sound amazing and when the band say that they wanted to make an album that would work better than 'Is dead' in a live setting, you understand where they come from on tracks like 'Drugwolf' (the most conventional and melodic song, a satirical tract against the police) and 'I am everything I am not' (one of the rare choruses where hardcore kids will be able to sing along). While keeping an aggressive sound on most of the album, Alex Dunne and Eric Kuster's guitars experiment an array of new sounds, using effects pedals more than ever, sometimes over-distorted ('Type one', 'Republica') and sometimes soaring ('Drugwolf', 'Exit halo'). A song like 'Not dead' benefits much from the bite provided by the distorted guitars, the grunge-like hook added to the shrill vocals of Hallbert singing "I'm not dead / But you're losing me" and its "hey, hey" chorus making it one of the most efficient on the album. The work on bridges is excellent as well, building up literal walls of sound on 'Odalisque' and 'Exit halo'. The latter may be the best song Brand New didn't write on 'Daisy', haunting by its reverberating vocals and intense bass line, unpredictable by its binary construction making the two halves of the song completely different. Kristian Hallbert has really found his best vocal execution, alternating soft singing and distant yelling, finally setting up his own recognizable trademark. There are settled-down moments on 'I was trying to describe you to someone', though. 'Young' is a beautiful and poetic number, at first sounding like an acoustic pop-punk track with its soft guitar notes and catchy vocals before trashing drums turn it into a peaceful and melodic full-band song. 'Dark Island City' (which has very little in common with the track of the same name off 'The troubled stateside') is as laid-back but is much more sombre, paving way for the most upbeat song on the record, the closer 'I cannot answer you tonight'. This song is the closest to what Crime In Stereo was five years ago, a more traditional melodic hardcore filled with an epic feeling very peculiar to the band. And the last 40 seconds made me realize that it's in this configuration that they are the most likely to move me, as the tense bridge turns into a wonderfully energetic and touching ending with Hallbert yelling "Come back to me" with all his heart.

Crime In Stereo have gone a long way since their 2002's basement demo. They have worked hard and evolved on every level, improving their musicianship and their songwriting, also distancing themselves from the casual hardcore music to add a "post-" prexif to their sound. 'I was trying to describe you to someone' is a challenging album, hard to get into. You're constantly lugged around between quiet and loud, distortion and progression, airy and angry. So much that it can be a little misguided at times. By avoiding conventions, the album also bears a certain form of analogy. It is not as astonishing as 'Is dead' because the effect of surprise is not as strong, but it is a more consistent and ambitious effort that will also be easier to transcribe live. The mix of Mike Sapone is once again faultless, even if lots of fans will blame him for turning the band into Brand New. The comparison is legitimate, their sound now is very similar, but it is first and foremost the result of Crime In Stereo willing to add depth and variation to theirs. Whilst some will argue that 'I was trying to describe you to someone' is the masterpiece that 'Is dead' gave a glimpse of, others will feel betrayed by a band who gave up their older sound. Where is the hardcore? Probably in the spirit of the album. Where is the punk? Probably in the heart of the album. Crime In Stereo haven't forgotten their roots, they're an incredible band who, despite being now less moving than before for a part of their audience, need to be regarded as the grittiest act erupted from the 2000's hardcore scene.

4,5/5

Recommanded if you like:
Brand New, Moneen, Sparta
Check also:
Make Do And Mend, Hostage Calm, Jettison

www.myspace.com/crimeinstereo
(Bridge Nine, 2010)