Review Summary: State Radio hits the mark... almost.
Who are State Radio? That question remained unanswered even after the release of their first full length. The fusion of punk, rock, reggae, and pop combined with often dark, leftist political and social lyrics defined them, but they lacked a congruency that would often leave the listener feeling, for better or for worse, like they were hearing a compilation of songs from different artists.
Year of the Crow doesn’t change much in that regard. The album is a melting pot of influences from Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, Bob Marley, and Sublime. Perhaps thanks to the strong production, the disparity in the bands sound isn’t as distracting as it was in past releases, but there are points where it still feels awkward; “The Story of Benjamin Darling Part 1” almost feels like they like they let the Decemberists have a guest spot on the album.
Yet, even throughout the wide range of styles State Radio covers on Year of the Crow, their song-writing rarely falters. Chad Stokes is accomplished at his craft and knows how to walk the line between catchy pop-hooks and creative song structures with powerful lyrics that elevate the music to an art form. Songs such as “Rash of Robberies” which plays heavily with the contrast between furious rock and anthemic pop over it’s six-and-a-half minute life span, or “Fall of the American Empire” which is based more around musical climaxes than it is around any conventional structure exemplify this.
The musicianship on Year of the Crow is solid. The band doesn’t take too much time to show with fancy solos, but it’s apparent that all the band members are proficient with their instruments. Often, the band mixes up their arrangement to add piano, trombone, and even xylophone into their songs. Occasionally Stokes’ vocals can become grating, however. On “Unfortunates” the combination of his high, thin singing with lack of bass makes the song feel unbalanced. “Sudan” has him switching in and out of his falsetto more times than one can reasonably enjoy and the songs message is lost in it.
Year of the Crow is void of any glaring flaws, yet there are a lot smaller errors that prevent it from being a truly great album. The high points of the album show the bands potential and leaves it’s listeners eagerly anticipating what State Radio will do next... perhaps on their next album they’ll hit the mark.
