Published on Oct 30, 1997
I hate reviews like this…
One of the most difficult tasks any music reviewer has is taking
a debut release by a band that shows quite a bit of promise and
tearing into it. You see all the strengths the band has, but you
also have to point out what you saw as the weaknesses. And while I
hope bands who read these reviews see my words as constructive
criticism, they most likely consider me to be an asshole by the
time they’ve finished the review.
With this in mind, I must state that the debut release by
Phoenix-based Crushed shows off a band that will be quite powerful
one day – once they decide which direction their music should
go.
You see, the band prides itself on a mixture of clean guitar
sounds (provided by Mike Halland) and a crunching riff (provided by
guitarist/vocalist Mark Lauer). When Crushed wants to, they can
crank up a groove that rivals Pantera and Helmet, or they can
create a nice textured melody that dares any pop song to follow
suit. The problem is that the band wants to be able to enjoy both
styles of music equally – this tends to weaken both camps.
Lauer’s vocals defy true categorization; one minute he sounds
like Layne Staley, the next minute Mike Patton, the next minute
Gordon Gano. This tends to throw the listener for a loop, as they
can’t really settle into a pattern with the album and get used to
one vocal style.
The grooves, along with the song crafting, are what make
Crushed so wonderful. Bassist Michael Brown and drummer Jeff
Garten lay down a rhythm base that is simply incredible, though
Garten occasionally throws in some double bass work when it’s not
really needed. Cuts like “Crescent Draggin Wagon,” “Lit” and
“Incandescence” had my 18-month-old dancing in the living room.
The best cut on this album, ironically, is the one the band
didn’t write – a cover of “Brimstone In A Barren Land.” It is here
that the amalgam of soft and crunchy guitar, along with one hell of
a bass groove, truly mesh the best. This is not to say that the
originals are bad; it’s just that I found this song to be more
entertaining.
In fact, this leads me to the main problem I had with
Crushed – it tends to jump around so much style-wise that I
found myself often losing focus. I tried on several different
occasions to plow through this album, but often I found myself
unconsciously tuning it out by the time “Whistling Past The
Graveyard” was kicking in. (I consider myself to be a patient
listener, but if I’m losing interest, one wonders what the typical
listener would do.)
Does this mean that Crushed isn’t a good band? Hardly – I do
believe that given a fair shake, these guys have a chance of
claiming the alterna-metal throne from bands like Alice In Chains
and hitting the big time. But for them to accomplish this, they
need to decide on one music style and, for the most part, stick
with it. Once they do this, they’ll have my full attention from the
moment I slap the disc in the player for the first time. But this
is something that will come with time and experience – formed just
five years ago, Crushed is still a very young band that needs to
earn a few battle scars.
Crushed does have some moments that set it apart from other
albums in its genre, and for a freshman effort, it’s okay. But I
hear the possibility of what could be – which both excites me and
makes me wish they had implemented it on this album. Still, it’s
worth checking out.
Sorry, guys – I don’t say it to be an asshole… I say it
because I care about what I listen to, unlike many mainstream
critics.