 | Tracklist:
1. Your Valley Is Our Volcano
2. Until the Light Kills the Film
3. New Ruins
4. Scalpel Cuts Concrete
5. Gun at the Parade
6. Afterburn of Being Born
7. Talking Underwater
8. Eyes That Never Hit the Sky
9. Drowning Swan's Song
Release Date: 2004 | |
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On 3 Lists
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| Summary: The Kidcrash's debut brings excellent twin guitar work and a Robert Smith sound-alike. |
2 of 3 thought this review was well written
"Cause you're a hit in shopping malls,
You're the *** that makes us all want to quit.
'Cause you're a hit in shopping malls,
You're the *** that makes us all want to quit."
So sings Alex Gaziano in the first track of New Ruins, The Kidcrash's debut full length album.
One can assume he is referring to the myriad of bands copying the former sounds of the underground, spreading a generic sound throughout popular culture.
On the surface, New Ruins sounds like a slightly more creative version of what you might hear in those shopping malls, but dig a little deeper, and you're likely to find an album much more dense and intelligent than anything Gaziano is referring to in Your Valley Is Our Volcano.
Singer and guitarist Gaziano's voice is one of the closest imitators to The Cure's Robert Smith that I may have ever heard.
Full of the heartache and emotion Smith was known for, Gaziano seems like the perfect choice for main vocalist, even if his delivery will never be quite as heart wrenching as Smith's can be.
The only problem with Gaziano's voice, if you can even call it a problem, is that it can distract from the guitars, which are far and away the highlight of New Ruins.
Full of angular counterpoints, arpeggiated riffs and huge, emotive crashes of power chords and smartly spaced jazz chords, the guitars bring a twin attack that yields some of the most amazing two guitar interludes heard since the days of Fripp and Belew.
So as not to shine on the guitars too much, the bassist and drummer are extremely technically skilled as well.
The drum parts are varied and "mathy", never following a simple pattern for too many measures, always managing to stay busy and interesting.
As for the basslines, they add a beautiful underbelly to the wall of guitars, adding a deeper flavor of sound that is almost as melodic and technical as the guitars.
The band as a whole also writes and arranges songs very well, knowing exactly when the perfect moment to launch into a flurry of arpeggios or the precise second to tone things down with quiet guitar interludes that are, ironically in their low level of volume, as bombastic as any of the "heavier" moments on the album.
If New Ruins has any problems, it is that the band sticks fairly close to one tempo, not speeding up much, and while it really isn't necessary, it is what keeps The Kidcrash's debut from reaching classic emo status.
Overall,New Ruins is a well structured, intelligent emo album that just happens to contain some of the best guitar parts heard in a long time.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
I was gonna buy this but then I remembered that it costs money. I'll dl it later
Digging: Tera Melos - Drugs to the Dear Youth
| | | Album Rating: 4
It's worth buying,but it's probably better to dl it.
Or go see Kidcrash,their drummer will give it to you for nothing.
That's how I got my copy.
Digging: Dangers - Anger | | |
so is this ACTUAL emo? like circle takes the square and sunny day real estate emo?
Digging: Poison The Well - The Tropic Rot
| | | Album Rating: 4
Yeah.
It's good stuff.
The sound is more like "radio" emo, except wayyy more intricate.
And the lyrics don't suck.
| | | Album Rating: 3
Not really.
There's a reason buster gives it out. But it isn't bad.
Digging: Animal Collective - Spirit They've Gone, Spirit They've Vanished | | | Album Rating: 4
He told me he gives it out because he thinks it sucks,and he didn't play drums on this album either.
I think it's pretty great.
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I might look into this if this isn't bad mislabeled pop-punk. 
| | | Album Rating: 3
It sort of is.
Look into their new record, Jokes.
| | | Album Rating: 3
4.5, no way.
Digging: A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head | | | Album Rating: 4
Jokes is better.
But I still really like this.
| | | Album Rating: 4
Listened to the album twice,bumped the rating down half a point.
Any comments on the review itself?
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Tracks 1 and 9 are awesome, and track 5 is really good. Other than those, this is forgettable.
| | | Album Rating: 3
this album is kinda bland actually.
Digging: Cave In - Jupiter | | | Album Rating: 4
Well,I guess just about everyone disagrees with my rating.
But does anything have anything to say about the review?
I think this is a decent review.
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put these blurbs into paragraphs, then it will be pretty good.
From what I've heard from the albums, it's pretty decent.This Message Edited On 11.24.07
Digging: Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3
| | | Album Rating: 4
Alright,stacked the blurbs together a bit more.
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Overall,New Ruins is a well structured, intelligent emo album that just happens to contain some of the best guitar parts heard in a long time.
other than that great job.This Message Edited On 11.24.07
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Jokes is way better but I'm quite partial to this on occasions.
Buster is a damn good drummer, his stuff on Jokes is awesome.
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any idea where i can hear a couple of these tracks before buying the album so i don't go out on a wing and buy an album i may hate? :P
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itunes has some tracks you could sample. Or just download it first; you can go to google blogsearch and probably find it.
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