| artist: hot cross How to describe this band… Hmm… I don’t know if you can really capture this band’s sound and essence with words. This band is really interesting. Yeah. They are interesting. That’s a good way of putting it. The first time I heard this band, I wanted to call them a grindcore band, but as I listened to them some more, I changed my mind in the most extreme of fashions. I can’t really say they’re a grindcore band, but I can’t say they’re not. Maybe I can call them post-hardcore, but that is too general. Eh, it doesn’t matter. This band has so many different elements to it, which contribute to why I think they’re worth talking about. Hot Cross’ CD, A New Set of Lungs, is quite a work. This seven-song, 14-minute-long, barrage of sound is an almost academic listen. Each song has little to do with the other, as the band experiments with all sorts of different sounds, tempos, styles, and whatnot. There’s a lot of screeching guitars, choppy licks and even choppier drums, frantic screaming, tempo changes, catchy string parts, and interesting chord progressions. This band goes all over the place on this record. The first song on the CD, “Born on the Cusp” is all about quickness. I could imagine this band playing the song live and how insane it would be. Song number two, “History Fell in the Heart Broke Open” starts fast and then slows down, and ends with an awesome exchange of hard guitars and interesting string parts. The third song, “Between Minutes and Miles” is slower, and even starts with a bass line as the main player. The fourth song, “Lend Me Your Brain,” is more on the chaotic end. The album goes on like this until the end… The best song on this album, as far as my opinion is concerned, is “Putting the Past Right.” I absolutely love the beginning chord progression, which is also used right at the end of the song. It is awesome. The transition between this part, and the string part that follows it, is done abruptly and effectively. This song grabs you. When I heard it, I wanted to hear this band more. It managed to wiggle into my head, like some kind of parasite, and make a home, very good stuff indeed. Also, the song summarizes the band’s sound on this CD nicely, it has choppy and fast parts along with the slower elements. The musicality of the band is good; for this sound to be achieved, you need good musicians. It requires fast playing, good timing, and a good grasp of music theory. The vocalist has a somewhat high-pitched, indie rock-sounding, voice. His singing is segmented, and hard to describe, like the band’s sound. Honestly, I do have a few problems with this release. Firstly, the drumming is impressive, for the most part, but a lot of parts sound too similar to each other. The “ta-TA ta-ta-TA ta-ta-TA ta-ta-TA” kind of rhythm is used in multiple songs. It becomes off putting after a while. I know using “tas” is not a good way of making an accurate mental picture of this rhythm, but it becomes apparent once you listen to the album. Maybe this comes from their grindcore influences; no matter what, I grew a bit tired of it. Also, I wish there was more melody in the album. “Putting the Past Right” has great incorporation of a melodic chord progression in the beginning, which really makes the song shine. There are hints of melody throughout the record as well. If that was exploited a bit more, the music would be more captivating. In conclusion, I really commend this band for their experimentation. I generally don’t like bands of this nature, yet I really like Hot Cross. In fact, I can see them as a transitional band for me, one that opens the door to some things that I would not have wanted to look into previously. I definitely plan on listening to this release more, and absorbing its uniqueness. |
Tuesday, July 9, 2002
Review: Hot Cross - A New Set of Lungs
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