Stay Tuned for the Holidays

A Crank! Sampler (Crank!)
by Tim Den

From the folks who brought you some of the first emo bands/groundbreakers (if you can call ’em that) comes… more emo. That doesn’t mean it ain’t no good, of course, considering the roster includes such standard bearers as Mineral, Boys Life, and Fireside. Johnny-come-latelys like Vitreous Humor, Cursive, and Sunday’s Best don’t fail the team either, as they strut their best unkempt hair in a weave of indie pop sung off-key. Then there are the sadly missed: The Vehicle Birth and Far Apart, specifically, who actually went beyond the arpeggiated formula and churned out some nice awkward-but-noisy-and-pretty angular compositions. NY’s answer to Foo Fighters, Errortype: 11, and new signees, The Icarus Line, give the label some much needed umph, while no one has a clue why they should still care about Jonah “from Far but now I have a new middle name” Rzadzinski Matranga’s Onelinedrawing (as if the “studio” stuff wasn’t boring enough, you can hear the chatter of the disinterested audience – and maybe even some snoring, if you listen closely – on the live track here). But all in all, a bargain for so many bands… even if this style tends to render all of its practitioners indistinguishable. Others: The Gloria Record, Jupiter, Acrobat Down, Silver Scooter, Christie Front Drive, The Regrets.
(8571 Higuera St. Los Angeles, CA 90232)