Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: The Horrible Crowes

-
THE HORRIBLE CROWES
Mary Ann

From: Elsie
Released: September 6

Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon started exhibiting a soulful disposition on his band's 2010 album American Slang which, while still plenty in line with the aggro-Bruce Springsteen vibe they'd presented previously with breakout album The '59 Sound, displayed a much more versatile and Stax-loving band.  With new side project The Horrible Crowes (brainchild of Fallon and longtime friend and guitar tech Ian Perkins), Fallon expands his sonic palette a little more, revealing some stranger, darker influences.  Elsie was summed up by many reviewers as Gaslight Anthem Lite, and it's inarguable that some of the album does itself no favours in that department; however, the few tracks where Fallon really steps beyond the boundaries of comfort and lays into the unusual are quite pleasing in their own way.  Mary Ann, with its possessed preacher verses and stabs of accordion, sounds something like I'd imagine Tom Waits if they'd banned smoking in nightclubs in 1975.  However, nothing else on Elsie quite usurps it in the thrills department (although Blood Loss admittedly has a much bigger payoff), rendering it ultimately a pretty good album that didn't raise the bar for Fallon, but makes one more excited for what lessons he may have learned in its making that may be applied to the next Gaslight Anthem release.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IN REVIEW: Surf Curse - "Magic Hour"

-
Image
  After a slow ascent that saw them self-release their first three albums over the course of six years, Surf Curse found fame in the way that so many young and hungry bands do in this modern age; Freaks , written in 2011 and originally released on their debut Buds in 2013, found itself a sudden smash after soundtracking memes on TikTok in 2020, eventually garnering over 200 million streams and earning the group a major label contract.  The first album following their breakthrough, Magic Hour finds plenty of changes in store for fans; now expanded to a four-piece, this album immediately sets itself apart from previous releases based on the fuller sound in the songs alone. Couple that with a step away from the lo-fi aesthetic that played a part in earlier releases and this is obviously going to be a different experience than people may have hyped themselves up for. That said, the crunchy, energized Arrow and the lush, dreamy Cathy combine for a very strong start even as they fly in the
Read more

Gallantly Streaming: Avenged Sevenfold Go Full On 90's With Familiar, Stunning Results

-
Image
Stream Avenged Sevenfold's Hail To The King here , courtesy iTunes. As uncool and un-hipsterish as it may be for me to admit on a blog, I'm a fan of Avenged Sevenfold. Their breakthrough album City of Evil and its blistering lead single Bat Country sucked me in, and their varied, multiple era sprawling attack kept me around waiting for more. Their 2007 self titled effort was just as strong in its shameless genre hopping, planting their feet firmly in the technical metal that endeared them to so many while reaching out to explore new sounds. With that said, I felt 2010's Nightmare was a step back; while it had some genuinely thrilling moments, it overall lacked some of the adventurousness that made them so interesting. Upon listening to Hail To The King 's title track for the first time, I was admittedly disappointed by its trite lyrics and (mostly) simplistic musicianship. However, repeated exposure has helped the track age well; once you get past the lyrics
Read more

Year in Rock 2023: Honorable Mentions

-
Image
  Well, well, well. If it isn't Sound Bites temporarily coming back to life, suspiciously close to the end of the year. That must only mean one thing; well, aside from the author being supremely lazy and neglectful to his blog yet again. Yes, dear reader, it's time for Year in Rock. Look, I'm out of excuses as to why I can turn from cranking out content at a record pace to a full year of radio silence; suffice to say, this blog certainly isn't a priority in my life (which I have been rebuilding since my last post, but that's all personal stuff I have no desire to steal bandwidth from more deserving and important things). Sound Bites will continue to exist as a mausoleum for my personal music tastes, but it's not pivoting into self-help territory, nor is it roaring back to full-time status. I'll check in periodically, so as to say when there's something worth sharing. It might be once a year, it might be more frequently, but I definitely won't be gett
Read more