Crocodiles – Crimes of Passion

crimesofpassionRating: ★★★½☆

When looking at the musical history of Crocodiles, you can say there have been three stages.  The first stage has roots in the records one and two, filled with reverb and a wash of noise.  Then they started to clean things up a little bit on Endless Flowers, and they’ve finally progressed to the the latest stage with Crimes of Passion, creating a collection of songs that wears their influences boldly whilst pushing further into the realms of pop sensibility.

On my first jam to “I Like It in the Dark,” I really thought this was some experimental version of early Brit-pop.  The vocals definitely wear that influence, as do the piano touches jumping in and out of the track.  It’s clear at this point that Crimes of Passion is still to go further into pop songwriting, although I appreciate that they haven’t completely abandoned their penchant for extra layering, though this time with instruments as opposed to feedback noise.  Surprisingly, “Marquis de Sade” cleans things up completely, giving us one of the most straightforward hits the group has composed to date, harkening to sunny Cali pop by using female backing vocals.  But, personally, I could do without the excess horn solo in there; it would ruin the song if it weren’t such a great tune all around.

I think one of the biggest changes for Crocodiles revolves around the delivery of the vocals.  You’d find the group coating the voice in the early stage, yet if you listen to “Heavy Metal Clouds” you can tell that the band are intent on making lyrics you can attach yourself to immediately.  There were glimmers of such a voice on the last LP, but they’ve been improved upon here, leaving listeners with an extra instrument to focus on…that of the voice. You’ll see the same attention to detail on “She Splits Me Up,” which just might be the prettiest song that the group has crafted to date.  Guitars on this track are angular, yet they have a tonal brightness that I find really appealing.

But, don’t think that Crimes of Passion is all shimmering pop goodness; you’ll still find songs with a bit of grit within.  “Gimme Some Annihilation” offers up the crunchiest guitar from the LP, featuring some of that trademark Crocs fuzz.  Still, while holding onto their past, it’s hard not to see that the band almost seems refreshing new with this track; it’s got an entirely different attitude now, as opposed to what you might find in the early stage. They give us noisy nods, just not too much.

Honestly, I see this as a record that’s going to sneak up and surprise a lot of people.  The band definitely tread water with their homage to Jesus and Mary Chain early on, but it seems now they’re looking forward to other popular Brit acts like the Stone Roses…seriously.  Crimes of Passion is a pop record; it just happens to be one filled with light elements of noise and experimentation, showing us all where Crocodiles once were, yet giving us a glimpse of where they are going.

Violens – Amoral

Rating: ★★★★☆

For years Violens have slowly been compiling EPs and mixtapes, all pleasing to a greater audience, allowing them to build up a fan base before releasing Amoral.  That it hit the shores of the UK is a sure sign that the band owes a great deal more of their musical influences to the British than to most American bands.  Regardless, they’ve earned their successes and praise, and these twelve songs remain just another example of the band’s craft.

Amoral opens with this ridiculously bass line, and then a twangy guitar comes in, joined by a bit of echo atmospherics. Here is where you notice the British touches, as the band seems to pay homage to the acid house/pop blend of bands like The Stone Roses.  You can almost dance to it, but the actual soundscape of opener, “The Dawn of Your Happiness is Rising,” is ultimately more rewarding than mile dance numbers.  They’ll stick with this stylistic approach, adding bits of funk to go along with a more soothing vocal, as they do in “Full Collision.”  Easily you can see the swaying hips of every hipster in town, especially when the gently obscured “oh oh ohs” rise and fall in the background.

“Acid Reign” is an easy choice for your modern single, as the guitar line definitely has this driving sensibility to it, but as is par for the course, the band covers the easily accessible pop elements beneath clever piano lines, adding a bit more of creativity.  Still, the gunfire drumming is phenomenal, which probably helps establish a good rapport with audiences looking for a little jangle and shimmy with their singles. Another winner of a track, though they all remain as such, is “Violent Sensation Descends,” a song that seems to hold a past with the darker psychedelic pop bands of the 60s, typically British, again.  But, what differentiates this track from simple rehash is the fact that the vocal delivery has a warmth to it, but in a catchy modern manner.  Something about this song will stick with you for days, or more.

Let’s not look at this record as merely a collection of singles, as that’s clearly not the point of Violens.  You can trace the band’s work all the way back to their previous careers in Lansing-Dreiden, what was then deemed an art-project of sorts.  Having that mentality allows for the band to experiment a bit more with modern song cycles, and while you’ll still find straight pop songs like “Another Strike Restrained,” the band still has it within themselves to offer up dark mini-collages such as the album’s title track, “Amoral.”  It’s their experimentation within modern boundaries that makes it all seem so clever, and unique. After all, that’s what we seem to be looking for from our modern indie heroes, a willingness to push boundaries of various genres, and Amoral does precisely that.   Perhaps this is yet another juncture in the band’s career before they shift gears and confound us all again, but they’ve earned that right.  Who really cares what how they shift and change when they can write pop songs so intimate and challenging simultaneoulsy?

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/03-Acid-Reign-1.mp3]

Download: Violens – Acid Reign [MP3]

Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars EP

painsRating: ★★★★☆

After speaking with Kip, we realized that this EP was something to really look forward to, as this entire EP includes new songs from 2009 darlings The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.     You can’t not want more tunes from these guys can you?  So here we have Higher Than the Stars, song by song.

This EP opens with the title track, “Higher Than the Stars.”  It opens with a noticeable keyboard programmed atop the steady drumming and hazy guitar.  Kip’s vocals are extremely soft here, almost kept to a whisper.  You’ll find that some of the guitar tones are really bright, which is what makes the group a pop band afterall!

Following the opener is “103.”  This is the track that most closely resembles the group’s stylings on their debut LP.  Once again, you can heat the march of the drums, and instead of the hazy guitars, this time around you get more of that earth-shattering atmospheric guitar sound, with a nice little solo blaring through it all near the end of the tune.

Personally, “Falling Over” is where it’s at on this EP.  It’s got a lot of that classic 80s jangle-pop mentality, but with the influence of someone like the Happy Mondays, bringing in a little bit of dance into your clasic guitar song.  The chorus is perfectly fitting to the concept of the song, placing it squarely in the past–for some reason I hear someone like New Order or the Pet Shop Boys rocking this chorus. 

Our fourth track is somewhat of a new nostalgic approach.  It’s less jangle-pop than previous records, and it demonstrates that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are more than just one trick ponies.  The lack of clarity on the guitar here recalls the likes of The Stone Roses or Teenage Fanclub. It’s an American Britpop song.

For the final track, you get a little remix of “Higher Than the Stars,” done by St. Etienne and Lord Spank.  It doesn’t add too much to the original track, other than a steady dance beat, and a little bit more time.  It’s not an awful track by any mean, just dismissable in comparison to the previous four tracks.

Overall, the wonderful thing about this release is that it gives way to a new horizon for the group.  They haven’t foudn themselves stuck in one place, destined to release the same thing over and over again.  It makes it rather enjoyable for us all.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/pains-higher-than-the-stars.mp3]

Download: Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Higher Than the Stars [MP3]

FTC – The Stone Roses

stonerosesLong before you had the trendy Britpop scene that exploded with the likes of Blur and Oasis (though Pulp was clearly the best!), you had another scene, sort of the Godfather scene to Britpop.  It was Madchester, rooted in the town of Manchester (where the best team in England plays).  The style combined a little bit of house DJ music with straight rock n’ roll.  And head of the movement…The Stone Roses.

Not only did they release one of the most flawless albums of the 1980s with their self titled Stone Roses debut, but they did it whilst creating an entirely new mode of fashion (baggy), which I suppose we can blame for the invention of Jncos.  Hands down, this was the first Britpop group to make it big, but like most bands of that ilk, they quickly faded into obscurity.

We bring you the group this week, as this marks the anniversary of their debut, and as such, that album is getting the Redux treatment; it’s been remastered, and it includes a selection of demos and unreleased songs to boot.  Trust me, this band deserves your love, so go dig in the closet and break out The Stone Roses.

[audio:https://austintownhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/09-Made-Of-Stone.mp3]