Labels: Triste
Review by: James Wright
The weird thing about Crash of Rhinos is that, on paper, there is so much there that would traditionally turn me off a band. Vocals that can go from shouted to melodic to borderline “gang”. I see songs going way over my traditional 2-3 minute max attention span. I hear melodic tunes going in and out of mathy poly-rythms and switched up time signatures. They have a drummer which is unafraid to put his authority on things, which is not normally a problem for me (see: Kolya <3), but it can be when that band is somewhat related to my peer and age group and the drummer is absurdly good - and crucially for my pathetic ego - far better than myself.
But whilst I can claim all of these facets to be things I’d find negative on their own or collectively in other bands, I love every single factor that makes up Crash of Rhinos. The vocals at face value do things I wouldn’t normally enjoy – but in this band, they are so well done. So honestly created, managing that ridiculously rare combination in punk-related music that I like, of being very well recorded, very present in the mix yet still completely captivating and exciting. The rhythms can end up going anywhere and everywhere but it is so well realised when it’s done in this context. I find this in the sense that the melodies can evoke nostalgia for me, from early Jimmy Eat World even to stuff like Rival Schools – but the rhythms keep it exciting rather than just going over well trodden ground. It’s tastefully done. These are clearly talented blokes and they do very talented things – every little added off beat, extended fill or extra guitar note adds to the song and it doesn’t feel like it’s been done “for the sake of it” and the tunes remain paramount. Same goes for the drummer comment I made – dude is ridiculous, but it’s contextual. It never sounds gratuitous. It’s impressive, but not in a way that you’d want to begrudge him for it because it improves and elevates the songs so much.
As you’d expect with all these facets, the album maintains a tone but is fairly diverse. The tune ‘Stiltwalker’ goes stampeding off not unlike Hot Snakes before grooving out. “Gold on Red” has the kind of call and response style that reminds me of early Hundred Reasons and the kinda of hypnotic groves that At the Drive-in were doing around In/Casino/Out era. Other times, tunes like “Lifewood” rise and fall like earlier Mineral or Ribbon Fix’s poppier stuff – but there’s often that kind of “triumphant chorus” element that brings it all together cohesively. Again, that’s not really something I tend to enjoy, but it’s so well done here that I can’t help but enjoy it.
The bottom line is that this song is wonderful, this band are wonderful and Distal is a wonderful album and you should go cop it immediately. It doesn’t sound like very much that I listen to and I really respect a band that can make me enjoy them this much when it’s pretty far out of my usual comfort zone. I don’t mean it in a disparaging way when I see this as a very well produced pop record. I’m in my mid-20s and hear a lot of elements from music I hadn’t listened to in a good long while, without it being derivative and easy to pigeon hole. There’s more than enough added to keep it sounding relevant and contemporary, so I’d definitely think you should pick this up.