ARTIST: ††† (Crosses)
ALBUM TITLE: EP ††
RECORD LABEL: Crosses Music
RELEASED: January 24, 2012

By Jon Robertson
Staff Writer, Illegitimate Son of Irwin M. Fletcher

The new ††† (Crosses) EP has come and it contains another five songs for your listening pleasure, but this time instead of it being free like the first you’ve got to fork over some dough for the privilage of these jams. I’m not as jazzed about this collection of songs as I was about the last one. Their first EP had this certain creep and slither to it, the keyboards had a dark undertone  and the guitar seemed to have a nice little distorted crunch to it. It seems as though the band has gotten a bit fluffier and sunnier on this new collection of songs. That’s not to say that it’s all Care Bears and Rainbow Brite, but it just doesn’t have the supposed witch house feel that the band was labeled with on their debut.

The EP starts off with ”Frontiers;” this song has probably the smoothest flow and build up I have heard on any song in a long time, with spectacular beats and drums. The next song, “Purient,”  has Chino Moreno’s strongest vocal performance of the five and it is downright amazing. I know I am biased because Mr. Moreno is my favorite singer, but he just has this quality to his vocal melodies that sounds so earnest and true. I feel like he really believes in the stuff he sings about. It just makes me excited in the pants all around. I sometimes wonder if Chino would be really weirded out by my unhealthy obsession with him… probably.

“Telepathy,” the third track, is the weakest of the bunch; the rhythm and pace of this song are similar to a cheap disco cut and take away from the vibe the previous two songs had built. I would feel a lot better about this release if this song was left off. “Trophy” brings all the joy and wonder back, with a mellow reverbed-out piano center to it, not too far off from the vibe Massive Attack accomplished on Mezzanine. The closeout track “1987″ contains a similar chord structure that was featured in the final track “Cross” off the first EP, which makes me think that this one is possibly a continuation of the first or that maybe they are supposed to go together… one can only speculate on what the cryptic minds of ††† (Crosses) intended.

While it’s cool to hear some new stuff from my favorite singer and this whole ††† (Crosses) thing was a pleasant surprise when the first release came out last summer and it is nice to have a followup EP so quickly, I am a bit concerned. The band is realizing this music on their own, therefore not having much of a quality filter when it comes to which songs to release. I’m okay with the lighter quality to these new tracks, but if it means going even further into a dance pop-oriented direction, then I am not thrilled at all about the future of this band. I really would have been fine but, again “Telepathy” was a bad a choice and is giving me  anxiety as to what the intentions of the group are. I kind of wish I hadn’t heard this song at all. Hopefully the next release will go back to more a gloomy vibe. I don’t want ††† (Crosses) to put me in a good mood, I want them to make feel depressed.

RATING: 6.5/10

To purchase EP †† and for more information, visit crossesmusic.com.

Front page image/interior photo from facebook.com/CrossesMusic.