Hard Side:
Crease - Only Human
By Joannie Foney
If screwed up election results & alligators
are all you think of when contemplating Florida, hopefully Crease changes
all that. With the release of their second album, listeners get to witness
an up and coming band's skillful lunge at a chunk of the alt metal pie.
"Only Human" blends an impressive mix of songs featuring solid musicianship
all around. The fairly broad vocals range from purring to growling in the
time it takes you to read this. Intelligent, challenging lyrics take the
audience into an intense world where revenge is meted out lyrically. The
command in "Ordinary" to "Be yourself instead of being me," seems to be
one they hold themselves to when they pay musical tribute to their influences.
Such songs, like the Zombie-esque "Transparent", stop short of becoming
an outright rip off, neatly taking off on its own tangent. Interesting
guitar playing & effects on all of the songs add to the value &
intrigue. The opening song, "Nothing is Real" showcases all of this nicely,
making a very good introduction for the uninitiated.
Rather than listing song after song that
would qualify for heavy rotation, any of the songs on this album would
sound perfect blasting from the radio. Fortunately, the edgy guitar undertow
should keep Crease from being dismissed as yet another alternative band
in the vast sea of similitude that presently chokes the airwaves. Can such
a mature sounding second album have anything to do with their Grammy winning
producer, Charles Dye? In spite of the weird, Top 40- friendly fare Dye
has churned out previously, including Ricky Martin & Spam Jovi, this
album stands alone. Rather than cramming Crease into the hit generating,
'sound like everyone else' mold, the end result bristles with imagination,
promise and even originality.
This ear catching assortment of tunes
will delight one and all, offering tunes that rock hard alongside anthematic
ditties bound for radio glory and ballads that won't make you roll your
eyes & skip to the next song. The Def Lep cover even accomplishes the
impossible: transforming cheesy, radio- filler into something far more
crunching & driving than anything Lep ever mass-produced, as implausible
at that sounds. Run out & buy this album today for the future bragging
rights of liking these guys way back when. If future albums continue to
highlight such growth & evolution, Crease will be the next big thing
& Roadrunner Records will look back with regret on the day they dropped
Crease from their label.
I give it 4 stars- This is an excellent
album, but Crease are too young in their career to start resting on their
laurels.
CD Info & Links
Crease
- Only Human
Rating: 
Tracks:
Nothing Is Real
Live to Be in Love
Wrapped Around You
Transparent
Indifferent
Whipped
Ordinary
Obviously
Just Like Me
Weight of the World
Make Me Believe
Too Late For Love |
tell
a friend about this article
What Do You Think?
Fan
Speak:
|
