Cross My Heart

Temporary Contemporary (Deep Elm)
by Tim Den

One of my favorite Deep Elm bands, Cross My Heart, follows up their self-titled debut EP with a full-length comprised of sultriness and desperation. Temporary Contemporary has the band chilling out, putting the aggression on the backburner to expose the more charred aspects of their psyche… particularly in areas of love. Tracks like “Tonight We’ll Set Ourselves On Fire” and “Infinity Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” pretty much say it all. Repeating “I don’t believe” over and over again during the latter, Cross My Heart doesn’t try to hide the fact that they’re a band that sings about nothing but relationships. That’s cool with me, as long as they keep doing it elegantly, not like the triteness we call “teeny bop” today.

They keep the sad, depressing “break-up mood” of the tunes afloat by changing paces often and trying new things, such as in the Wheat-ish “Angels & Gargoyles” with its subtly seductive, mellow beat. And whether the band is rocking out (occasionally, like on “London Bridge” and “Self-Loathing Bastard”) or playing it shoegazer (“Paris”), you still get the feeling that the sincerity and true pain comes from every inch of their being. The reality of it all pierces through you and stirs up some restless ghosts from your past. A very memorable, touching, and masochistically enjoyable album. I’m putting it on repeat.
(PO Box 36939 Charlotte, NC 28236)