Review Summary: The March Madness of comebacks(?)
‘Survive and advance’ is not a sexy phrase. It implies a sports game that’s down-the-wire, potentially injury-riddled, and played in a sloppy manner that’s a chore to sit through. The Classic Crime have been seemingly trapped in this description; since the bygone days of
Phoenix, each subsequent release has seen the Seattle crew battered and bruised by a decline in both output quality and widespread intrigue.
How to Be Human was a messy downfall where Matt McDonald and co. practically sounded like a basketball team operating on torn hamstrings, and
Patterns in the Static was the result of rushing back too quickly from the bench. Whereas the former subdued elegant arrangements in favor of streamlined, repetitive pop and dire lyricism, the latter was a tip-toe attempt at recuperation that was too cautious to reclaim lost glory. The band trudged on regardless; as they had for their past handful of records, they used crowdfunding to aid production efforts and found dedicated fan support remained. They pushed through poor critical reception into 2023, past a pandemic that put the screws to most artists. They’d take a stab at NFTs, Crypto and other pursuits with varying levels of excitement and disparagement. Didn’t matter; survive and advance. It was indeed far from glamorous, but it allowed The Classic Crime to stagger into the current calendar year.
All of this leads to
Grim Age: the gang’s seventh release and, if promo statements and lead singles are to be trusted, a return to a gritter, less pop-dependent direction, sparked by the aforementioned pandemic. Where does the truth lie there? To assuage lurking worries: this is not
How to Be Human levels of preachy or overblown. Take a deep breath! It’s all good. However, much in the same way that
Patterns was too wary of past mistakes to commit to a complete course-correction,
Grim Age is a relatively safe ‘return-to-form’-lite effort from the Washington lads. Admittedly, such a description sells the album short to an extent; the bulk of its compositions are grounded in the
Phoenix era of songwriting, which means a reduced reliance on arbitrary spectacle and a heightened presence of softer, slow-burner type alternative rock that patiently blossoms over meticulous build-ups. With that comes McDonald’s strongest vocal performance, his best lyrics in years, and a relatively wide selection of tunes that generally feel authentic and tightly constructed around worthwhile payoffs. Lush guitar melodies take center stage, with electronic influences appearing in a limited capacity, such as the synth melody supporting the verses of “NEW NOISE.” String sampling is likewise scaled down from a prominent role; it serves as a sporadic supporting factor, detailing the background of songs like “ALONE IN THE CITY.” The album doesn’t rely on these inclusions and instead integrates them seamlessly, focusing intently on artfully constructed crescendos.
When
Grim Age hits its stride, it’s a joy to experience. By filtering the punk-ish vibes of the group’s earliest work into restrained, gradual numbers, their bombastic climaxes are punctuated, contrasting against the calm they emerged from. It’s a modern-day equivalent of what Matchbook Romance evolved into on
Voices, with the record dominated by a moodier, patient direction. Tunes such as “INTO THE EARTH” build off a twinkling guitar riff, an ethereal ambiance, and razor-sharp vocal harmonies before erupting into a cathartic climax, rising from pounding percussion that slowly increases the tension, paving the way for an explosion of guitars and McDonald’s distinct, booming vocals. The preceding “ALONE IN THE CITY” abides by similar movements; using violin swells to accentuate the drama of McDonald’s prose, the track marches through energetic drumming and delicate strumming--all in service to another stunning culmination buoyed by McDonald’s strong performance. In an attempt to inject variety into proceedings, listeners are treated to the straightforward pop-punk rocker “RIGHT NOW” and its counterpart “NEW NOISE.” The flow connecting these entries maintains momentum regardless of the collective’s chosen approach, and the arrangements tend to possess more depth to explore--journeys to embark upon, unconventional structures, apexes to reach--than has been expected of the band’s late-career work.
Why, then, does everything still feel somewhat disappointing? It ropes back around to The Classic Crime playing things safe, emphasizing familiarity--well-written and well-performed familiarity, to be fair--which causes their latest record to be far too linear in its songwriting.
Grim Age is absolutely inundated with those slow-burner tunes. If you enjoy ballads, good, because they are
everywhere. The hits outweigh the misses--the previously described “INTO THE EARTH” and second lead single “END OF EVERYTHING,” among choice others, are winners--but when “WHAT YOU RUN FROM” appears, it’s hard not to hear the formula at play. No longer are standard pop structures employed as a crutch, but their replacement is equally repetitive; “LOST MAGIC” is no different to the progression of the several ballads preceding it, going through the same build-up strategies that are destined to hit a big boy climax and, well, that’s it. It works once, twice, even three times, but at a certain point a formula is a formula no matter how you slice it, and its transparent nature damages the record’s potential. It’s a shame; “RAGEBOI” genuinely stunned as a lead single, exhibiting a Classic Crime that had been fully rejuvenated and dabbled in complex dynamic shifts. There’s not nearly enough diversity to be found on
Grim Age, and its range is limited to rapidly-tiring crescendo-core shenanigans.
Despite that frustration, the LP really only contains one undeniable dud: the Billboard 200-ready “STAY IN LOVE,” whose corny verses, equally cliched refrain, and contrived presentation clashes horrifically with the album’s tone to the point of causing whiplash. At worst, everything else is guilty of an overt sense of caution that holds back a more definitive effort. It’s possible that, after two misfires in a row, a safe release was the best option to choose from. And, while it can certainly be guilty of becoming stagnant in its established template, the overarching level of energy radiating from the album is palpable. The Classic Crime sound far more alive than they did while surviving and advancing through haphazard stabs at mainstream appeal. It can be felt when McDonald belts to the point of breaking on the resonating conclusion of “INTO THE EARTH,” or the sugary-sweet anthem “RIGHT NOW” that
should be inexcusably cheesy, yet is sold with such earnestness that it’s difficult to not belt out the chorus. Sure, this isn’t the tour-de-force comeback that could stick middle fingers up to any doubters, but
Grim Age is the sound of a band slowly revitalizing themselves, confidently rekindling what once worked so well.
