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Crosses (†††)

Crosses †† (2012)
self-released

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Contributed by: eatdogs
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Published on January 27th 2012

Six months later and Crosses (†††) are back with their second self-titled EP. Overall the music is rather upbeat for the most part, but then gradually slides into more somber territory in the second half. “Fron†iers” opens up and stylistic changes begin to step out. The drumming sounds more live than before, with their programmed beats taking a break. In this song, as well as some of the others, Chino Moreno takes on a sort of Simon Le Bon approach to his singing. It reeks of Duran Duran, which isn’t a bad thing. Add to that distant echoes with post-punk riffs and you have a solid opener.

Track two, “Prurien†,” reverts back to the electronic-type beats, but incorporates them into a nice new wavy song that’s a bit reminiscent of the Cars. It’s perhaps the most welcoming of the bunch. The soaring guitars add a nice layer as well. Track three, “†elepathy,” is the highlight and the dividing line. This is the best Duran Duran-inspired song here, which is a given seeing as how Chino sites them as a huge influence. The song begins with futuristic, cyber-punk-sounding drums and webbed lo-fi guitars. There is a nice groove that gives this a somewhat danceable rhythm and stands as a totally separate entity from what Deftones and Far have ever done.

The last two tracks, “†rophy “and “1987,” take a nosedive and grind this EP to a halt. They both contain a more haunting feel, with hazy vocals, minimalistic slow burning tempos, and funeral synths. “†rophy” is interesting because it has a quirky, single guitar chime that sounds like it was taken from the song“True” by Spandau Ballet, and “1987” wouldn’t be out of place on Kid A, or anything by Mazzy Star.

In the end this EP is more of what Crosses are trying to show us, but in subtle ways. Leaving behind a lot of the shoegazy atmosphere, this EP embraces an '80s vibe and is clever in what it does. Shaun lopez, Chino Moreno and Scott Chuck seem to relish in their tributes, and thus, give a nice insight into what sounds and style make them as musicians. Hopefully a full-length LP is on its way next…

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corpseonpumpkin (3 weeks ago)

Very excited to hear this damned ep.

eatdogs (3 weeks ago)

oh my. renaldo69 you secretly love me don't you???

tenwestchaser (3 weeks ago)

*your

tenwestchaser (3 weeks ago)

Sleepwalker, you and wife are smart.

givemeamuseumandillfillit (3 weeks ago)

renaldo:
You're completely null/void. Just completely and utterly. In fact, I spat water all over my screen when you randomly dropped "behavioral pattern"! It's like when a stuttering person all of a sudden pronounces a 7 syllable word in a second after having just spent 20 seconds trying to get the word "to" out.

sleepwalker (January 28, 2012)

My wife loves these EPs. I love these EPs. We love these EPs together.

renaldo69 (January 28, 2012)

"
whats does jonny craig and anthony green have to do with crosses, or chino moreno in general???"

is one question mark to subtle for your inbred trolling behavioral pattern?

renaldo69 (January 28, 2012)

eatdogs...dude you needn't talk cuz you have trolled on many an article. i was just referring to other guys who were in kickass bands and gave good solo albums at times. that's called...a 'comparison'...no offense but you need to stop being such a pretentious cunt sometimes

i-type-poorly (January 28, 2012)

Coming around to this a lot more with the second EP.

If they keep this up with the third one (they have to make a trilogy, right) this may overtake Team Sleep in my book.

tenwestchaser (January 27, 2012)

This EP is definitely growing on me the more I listen to it. Different than the first EP, and not quite as good to me at this point, but certainly solid. Chino really knows how to make good, interesting music that has yet to bore me in the 15 years that I've been listening.

eatdogs (January 27, 2012)

"i love chino but this effort was a bit offkey. i rather listen to a jonny craig solo without the coke nods.
chino on 'caviar' was awesome on dgd...and f--k it, i rather a new deftones album again than more crosses"

whats does jonny craig and anthony green have to do with crosses, or chino moreno in general???

renaldo69 (January 27, 2012)

i love chino but this effort was a bit offkey. i rather listen to a jonny craig solo without the coke nods.
chino on 'caviar' was awesome on dgd...and f--k it, i rather a new deftones album again than more crosses

crosses aint bad but nuthing all that fancy. way bettter than antony green though