CRIME IN STEREO "... Is Dead" (Bridge Nine) Review by Jordan A. Baker
In this fractured music scene of a million genres and subgenres, rare is the occasion that a bulk of the Pastepunk crew rallies around one band. CRIME IN STEREO fits that bill however, and myself, James and Corey spent an hour or so discussing Is Dead, the band's third full-length (first for Bridge Nine), on the eve of the album's release date. To be honest, I don't know if the below conversation is the best way of reviewing this release, but we've completely geeked out on Is Dead and truly believe CRIME IN STEREO are worth such a discussion. And if you think reading a review in this format is a big waste of time - blame James, it was totally his idea :)
James: I loved The Troubled Stateside for all of the energy and also the bite, and with Is Dead, those two things are more or less gone, but instead, they're musicians now, and the songs sound like [the Brand New ful-length] Deja Entendu, had that disc been written by CIS
Corey: I agree with everything there except the Deja Entendu comparison… I get it, but I just don't feel it. I feel like that record was very by-the-book in the way that all the verse parts were subdued and then the choruses were big and loud. I think ...Is Dead is a bit more unrestrained. However, in keeping that comparison, I think both Deja and ...Is Dead contain one clunker. "Me Vs. Maradona Vs. Elvis," and "Nixon," respectively.
James: Hrm. I disagree with the choices, but not with the comment.
Jordan: Bah, Nixon's my favorite song on here!
James: Really?
Corey: Perhaps because it is most like the band's older stuff.
Jordan: I'm still having a hard time letting go of what they did so well in the past… and with a taste of that in Nixon, it stirs up the vapors of their lethal combination of speed and melody
Corey: “Nixon” isn't bad, and I think it has a really nice guitar lead in the chorus, but the first few seconds always turn me off. It's so much different than the rest of the album.
James: I would say the clunker on here is “Unfortunate Tourists.”
Corey: I thought that might be true, but I've really taken to that song in the context of the entire album. I love the rhythm's section role in it.
James: A slow, morose song about how meaningless sex is depressing afterwards?
Jordan: Back to “Nixon”... there's one line in it that really sticks out... "So don't compare me now to how I was back then." It probably has more meaning out of context than the rest of the song, but I think those words fit in nicely with a lot of how the band perceives itself.
James: Yeah, perhaps the CD, too… I mean, if we're talking about departures from previous sounds, this is about as drastic as it gets.
Corey: I would like to retract my previous statement about this record not being Deja Entendu-esque… I think you are totally right, James. I didn't think there were any really bass-y songs, but "Almost Ghostless" most definitely is.
James: Bass-y?
Corey: I don't know how that is a "song," and I hate that the last fifty seconds is comprised of nothing, but I love it. Bass-y… like lots of groove.
Jordan: The first 45 seconds of "... But you are Vast," is the Brand New comparison clincher...
Corey: Yeah, no doubt. Is it terrible I think Crime In Stereo does it better though?
Jordan: … But that really shouldn't cloud the entire release.
James: Perhaps. They do it differently. It is certainly more bleak than Deja.
Corey: I don't remember being this enthralled by Deja Entendu
Jordan: There's still a hardcore edge to CIS
James: I gotta believe “Small Skeletal” is going to have a huge place in my heart, if only for the first verse.
Corey: Starting with what line?
James: Earlier, I would have said “I sink a bit faster,” but now, the entire first verse.
Jordan: When I was out driving earlier today, I had the Silversun Pickups on and as I'm listening to the CIS again, I thinking that a song like "Animal Pharm" really isn't all that different from the former's radio hit, "Well Thought Out Twinkles"
James: You're going to explain that…
Jordan: OK… we'll abbreviate… SSPUs have an alterna-rock sound straight out of the early 90s that parallels grunge without the dirtiness and more air. The big difference with the new CIS is that the songs can breathe. There's a huge amount of space dedicated to the guitars compared to the vocals... though the vocals are still really memorable, particularly in how clearly they are delivered.
James: I never thought of it that way.
Corey: Is there a reason why Pharm is spelled as it is?
James: Probably another Philip K Dick reference.
Jordan: I dunno, I imagine it has to do with pharmaceutcials with all of the medical references… an I.V., relapsing, etc. and with the documented health issues of Kristian and Alex... who knows…
James: Does it mean anything that the photo from the downtime before the KYI final show is next to a song where one of the lines is don't compare us to how we were back then?
Jordan: That's probably a reach :-)
Corey: : How is "Choker" as a closer? Not as good as "I, Stateside."
Jordan: Yea... agreed. The album just sort of fades away
James: “I, Stateside” is probably going to be the best closer they do until, you know, the next record…
Corey: Well, technically, they are dead...
James: Which is why they're doing record release shows and trying to book a tour…
Corey: No, but seriously I love that everything about this release can be discussed. Just by naming the album ...Is Dead they are asking for discussion. I think that is pretty respectable. Everything, the photos, artwork, overall presentation...the names of the songs, the album title, and the lyrics. Everything has a purpose in my mind. I think with this album these guys have solidified themselves as one of the most meaningful bands out there.
Jordan: I kinda overlooked this line cause it's subtle, but how true is the thought "what tiny lives each of our lies must lead?" It's the second line to "Vicious Teeth"
James: *thumbs through the booklet*
Corey: No joke, man. That statement speaks to some stuff I've been experiencing in the past few weeks. "Vicious Teeth" is my favorite song on the record.
James: First time I heard this record the whole way through, I was going out to Wal-Mart at night, on this public bus that runs every two hours with no lights, and we passed by all these churches, retirement communities and communities for the mentally unbalanced, and I nearly just started crying on the way there.
Corey: That is deep, James, but I have no trouble believing it. There are some songs on this record that really pull at emotions.
James: It just seemed like that dystopian perspective of being on a bus with no lights with everyone else who was looking away, was just what Alex wants.
Corey: I knew they were able to do it after hearing "Gravity/Grace" but not to this extent.
James: If I can return briefly to the Wal-Mart run, it was when we started passing the homes for the mentally unfit that the part in “Animal Pharm” came on where Kristian goes "I want you to see that I'll be there when you're collapsing" that it fit into my life so fucking perfectly, because at the time I was lost over a girl…
Corey: isn't strange that this album's release seems to correspond with so much personal stuff?
Corey: So, Jordan... being the old man not in school and not having girl/relationship/social problems, how do you relate to this music?
James: Yeah, what was life like before the internet?
Corey: Could CIS ever reach the level of popularity that Brand New has? I don't know if they have the drama and personalities to get people talking like Brand New does... They certainly don't have a Jesse Lacey
Jordan: Man... I'm not THAT old, though I can say that at one point I had a Compuserve address (go look them up). How do I relate? That's a great question though -- more than anything, it's just a general understanding that nothing is ever cut and dry Inspiration can be mixed with sorrow, and it doesn’t take much to start feeling lost when circumstances change…
Corey: Whoa, Wordsworth.
Jordan: I guess what I’m feeling is that anxiety comes in a lot of different forms and CIS is a band that, over the past two albums, certainly has a grip on matters of anxiety in all sorts of settings.
Corey: I feel like this record makes me not want to listen to all the other CDs I have lying around… In fact, I have spent so little time with new releases the past two months that this just solidifies why.
James: I don't feel quite that strongly, but Is Dead grabs me like nothing else this year.
