Minnesota is home to well, besides Bob Dylan and Motion City Soundtrack, alot of bands you've never heard of. Small Towns Burn A Little Slower is starting to gain some attention too, but besides that, you don't really hear of any bands from The Land Of 10,000 Lakes. Enter Crashing By Design. A group of very hard working kids from Minneapolis, with a passion for good, fun music. While at first listen they almost seem to sound like everyone else, thats part of their charm, they sound like everyone else but make it all their own. They have a perfect mix of hardcore, pop, punk, and rock elements that, while giving them a hint of alot of other bands, bring out something truely unique.
The album opens with the track, 'Give Up When You're Dead', a nice little rock track thats just about a minute and a half long. While I'm not normally for short songs, I think this is a perfect way to introduce the album. It starts kinda slow, but once the guitars kick in, the song really gets moving. You get to hear the raw talent of the guitarists and the perfect timing of the drumming and it really gets you pumped up for some real good music. Danny's vocals kick in pretty powerful with the line 'Are you proud of my deception?' and carry the song right through to its end. Next up is track two, which is untitled, and a little bit of a change from 'Give Up When You're Dead', this song has much more of a hardcore feel to it. It's tempo changes a few times, but is generally a little on the slower side. I think this song is where they shine lyrically. 'In the shadows of the burnt land. In the shadows, red flags. In the stitches of yellow stars, we file one by one in showers'. I'm not sure if this song is a reference to the holocaust or not, but it really seems to be a song telling of war. Either way, lyrically, this song is very powerful, and definately the best of that on the album. Track three, 'Cure Me', is very very catchy. The line 'You say you have the cure for me, well cure me beautiful', I could see ending up in livejournals and myspaces and AIM profiles all around the world. Track four, 'This Could Get Dangerous', seems to have a feel similiar to that of some earlier Thursday stuff. The pumping guitars with the occasional mini-breakdowns and very awesome solo's show off some more of the bands musical talent then the other songs seem to. Next up is my favorite song, 'Thirty Miles North'. Everytime I hear the guitar opening for this song, I'll be honest, I get excited. I absolutely love this song. This song gets a 12 out of 10 rating in itself. It is an extemely catchy song, and you can't help but sing along to every word of it. Trust me, I've gotten a few funny looks while at stop lights just belting out the chorus 'A broken heart never felt this good before and I'll turn away after everything you never said to me' and 'Don't worry you're not missing much, just the best ***ing years of my life'. But of course, my voice isn't anywhere near as good as Danny's, who really shines vocally on this song. I can't go without mentioning the perfection of the guitars and drums in this song too. While they carry the pop riffs occassionally, they still have the complexity that they keep throughout this album. The final track, 'Say Something', is a nice long closer to a great album. Weighing in at just under 6 minutes, this song just does the opposite of what the opening track did. While 'Give Up When You're Dead' gives you a nice little introduction to the band, 'Say Something', leaves you feeling like you've made a new friend and you want them to come back and visit your cd player soon. One thing I really like about this song, are the 'Hey Hey!'s shouted towards the end of the bridge. Once again, this is another track that really just shines in every aspect. The song ends with some harmonic 'sha na na na na na na na's as the song fades out is a perfect close to this near perfect album.
So all in all, this is a very strong album. The lyrics, guitars, and drums, all work together perfectly, to create a fun, powerful, inviting album. And trust me, this song is probably rated highest on my list of re-playability. I swear I've listened to it 14 times in a row once, haha. The only weaknesses I see on the album are at times, the vocals seem a little bit off beat. But for a self-debut, this is definately one of the best albums out there. I'd recommend it to fans of 80's rock (you'll love the solo's), I think hardcore fans and pop-punk fans alike would take to this album as well. If you like The Early November, I think you'll really dig the vocals, as they as similiar to Ace Enders, but if you ask me, more powerful. I can't wait for their next release, maybe Wabasha Road will make it on that one? Either way, I'd say these guys are the next big thing to come out of The North Star state.
(To see more of my reviews, check out www.forthesound.com)
