There's two thoughts constantly running through my head when listening to this debut full-length from CRIME IN STEREO: 1) Everything that I love about hardcore can be found within the 29 minutes of music on here; and 2) This band needs to tour the world and never look back.

"Explosives, And The Will To Use Them" feels almost like it was made explicitly to fit my personal tastes in music. CRIME IN STEREO feature the melodic empathy of Long Island legends, SILENT MAJORITY; the sing-along hysteria of BANE, and the relentless, methodical intensity of STRIKE ANYWHERE and KILL YOUR IDOLS. In the end though, CRIME IN STEREO dish out a sound that's pretty unique in these times, as it never panders particularly hard to a specific genre, nor postures itself in the mold of a band that lives and dies by contemporary associations. At 24, I'm still a sucker for anything that I can sing-along and finger-point at while in my bedroom, and this gets the job done. CRIME IN STEREO's lyrics have a stunning clarity to them, taking on targets with laser sight. CRIME IN STEREO mix it up from posicore vibes ("Amsterdammed!") to more critical vocal assaults ("If You Think We're Talking About You, We Are"), all while retaining a certain "soundtrack of my youth" character.

Another sweet thing about this release is that the production style is entirely unique for this day and age where just about every hardcore band wants something bigger and crunchier than the rest. "Explosives..." has an intentionally stripped down, flippant sound to it, one that's more obnoxiously gritty than underproduced or neglected. However one can describe it, I think it works perfectly.

Without a shred of doubt, I'm calling "Explosives, And The Will to Use Them," the first essential piece of music from 2004.