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Chrash:
The Party
Lets start wit the press kit summary, and well work from there. The band Chrash promises A blend of playful songfoolery and heartfelt declarations of wonderence. Themes of light and dark work through these 11 songs. Hard thoughts, soft texture and odd atmosphere. Im used to marketing blueballs. When I was 8 years old and I got Guess Who? for Christmas, I was more than a little upset that the faces on the cards didnt actually quip smart ass retaliatory comments back and forth at each other. Nor did any of my functional ninja turtle toys come with the miniscule amount of power required to turn my stationary Pizza Shooter into the unlimited potential tank of mutant ninja pizza power, which I had foreseen destroying my brothers toys and possibly himself as well. Simply put, people often make bold claims. And people often fall quite a bit short of these claims. Not Chrash, though. Not by a long shot. Whenever I hear such an album, or see such a movie or read such a book, the words I need to use in order to describe the amazement I feel often escape me. Its these times that I turn to imagery; a picture in the liner notes depicting a neon sign in some bar, the words Good Beer Served Properly. And all of a sudden, you know where were coming from and where were headed. Right off the bat, the most important thing about Chrashs The Party is the recognition of potential over actualization. This is not the finest thing these kids will do not by a long shot. But already the pattern is forming. And the foundation of this pattern is simply being terribly clever. In an industry laden with bullshit musical antics and showmanship over actual ability to play or write music, Chrash comes at you with the subtle humor, insightful wit and playful attitude of a Flaming Lips or Unicorns, but with the often-poetic edge of a, dare I say it, Promise Ring (were talking Wood/Water here). Track five, Burning Bridges, waxes philosophically on that very point, focusing in on the sheer importance and justification of cutting ties. It then transitions seamlessly into Track six, Bridge Work Ahead. Get it? Lyrics aside, the other real strength in this album comes in the bands desire to experiment, without fear of failure. For a listener like me, the worst part of any new album is when a band sticks to a formula especially a two lead, one bass and drums formula. Crash hits up the spectrum of instruments, adding in, at different times, more keyboards, more viola, more banjo, more whistling! Thats right, I found myself wistfully lamenting the decline of whistling in modern rock music WTF indeed. Tracks like My Future Predictions really play out like a dream, ever-optimistic and absurd, growing in paranoia and passion, while tracks like To the Person with Too Much Perfume make an obviously funny joke which somehow transitions into an absurd form of unwanted nostalgia. Another breeze through the liner notes, and Im overly content with this clever little package. The Party is an album overflowing with potential and impressive execution of some important musical ideas not the least of which is a brave disregard for clich in favor of the treacherous slopes of originality. Pop-ful? Yes. Clever? Absolutely. Good? Its an album full of seemingly nonsensical metaphors which really make you think, really make you stretch as a listener. This is the kind of album that makes me happy all those little bands are out there trying to make good music. This band just happens to be one of the ones who will succeed at it. In the end? Oh Chrash: the party. I get it!
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