The lead off track on Crime In Stereo's The Troubled Stateside is titled "Everything Changes/Nothing Is Ever Truly Lost." This title could be used as a fitting description for the band themselves. Crime In Stereo began to receive recognition when they released their Blackout Records debut, Explosives, And The Will To Use Them, in 2004. The record was a raw, intense chunk of melodic hardcore, pretty much beating the tar out of anyone attempting to play this style of music. As the band released more material, they have become a rock solid band, writing much tighter, melodic songs, without compromising the level of aggression. Crime In Stereo may have progressed, but that doesn't mean they're not still pissed. Everything changes, but nothing is ever truly lost.
Two of the twelve songs contained on The Troubled Stateside, you've already heard. "Slow Math" opens with a technical lead, and shows the band strongly resembling melodic hardcore titans, Strike Anywhere. The chorus is especially reminiscent of the Fat Wreck Chords band, as it is a very big sounding part, with an anthemic sing-along. The other, "I'm On The Guestlist, Motherfucker" is a song that addresses the marketing tactic of putting a "big black sticker on the front that says 'For Fans Of.'" The track is one of the more aggressive songs on the record, short and heavy, with a run time of a minute and a half.
The band doesn't abandon the hardcore sound they so carefully developed, however. "Sudan," "Abre Los Ojos," and "For Exes," among others, demonstrate that Crime In Stereo have not gone soft on us. "Sudan" suggests that, just maybe, we shouldn't be satisfied living the same old life. The lyrics are quite poignant here; "How can I be who I want when they know me as who I am?" It would probably be quite a shock to discover how many people truly feel this way. The lyrics are delivered with a sense of urgency matching that of the song.
"For Exes" could be one of the bands fastest songs to date, and wouldn't sound out of place on Explosives, And The Will To Use Them. The song is written as an answering machine message to a friend. Quite heartfelt at times, as singer Kristian Hallbert tells this friend, "Just say the word and I'll be outside in the parking lot with the engine running by the curb. I'll even let you pick the records we play. All I want to do is waste some time with you and drive the night away. So if you get this message, call me back whenever. I'll be around all day."
Crime In Stereo aren't content to rest on their laurels and put out high quality melodic hardcore songs, however. "Dark Island City" starts off a mid tempo track, building and building ever so slightly, with a great lead guitar line carrying it the whole way to the top. The song finally peaks, and then drops the tempo through the floor. The only vocals on the track appear here, with Hallbert whispering a handful of words, as the song picks the tempo back up, builds again, slightly, and comes to an end. I've heard lots of complaints that this song "goes nowhere" or that it's "nonsensical." Maybe there's a deeper meaning here, not just a song you can "get a sick mosh on" to.
In line with "Dark Island City" is The Troubled Stateside's closing track, "I, Stateside." The song displays a definite maturation of the band. The song launches a vicious lyrical attack on America's moral right, letting us know that "we're all going to hell, but with one hell of a plan." "We'll fix the fat and the ugly with incisions. We'll stash the gay and liberal up in New England. We'll keep the black and poor in (or under the constant threat of) prison. And they'll all feel blessed just for being a part of the vision..." Musically, the song is probably the most progressive track in the band's catalog to date. It is just over 5 minutes long. It's not a hard-hitting, aggressive hardcore song. It's slow, driving, and incredibly emotional. The band means what they say, in all of their songs, but it has never been more apparent with this song.
The Troubled Stateside is Crime In Stereo really becoming the band they want to be. This is just the band's second full-length record. My mind can't even begin to imagine where they'll go with their third.
