Crystal Skulls CD Review
Crystal Skulls
Outgoing Behavior
(Suicide Squeeze)
We can blame MTV all we want for instant gratification, quick cuts, and making “artists” give us what we pay for, but it’s worked out pretty well for the consumer. Crystal Skulls aren’t handing out anything, however.
It’s been awhile since a blatantly pop album has made itself so hard to get your arms around. Outgoing Behavior, despite its title, swims around everything and rarely goes for the hook. It’s such a masterfully unassuming concoction, you can’t tell whether the band are unable to write a surefire chorus or just refuse to force the issue. Parallels can be found with The M’s, who enjoy the idea of crafting a cohesive album more than individual songs. Deeper digging unearths more bands of that ilk, with traces of Spoon (“Hey, It’s Easy”), Urge Overkill’s underlying lounge cool, and some fey Smiths-isms (“Brigantine Castles”). Given how surreptitiously influences are hidden elsewhere, the out-and-out grab at The Beatles’ “Think For Yourself” on “Just Like You Want” is disappointing; that it’s from Rubber Soul isn’t maybe that much of a coincidence.
— Steve Forstneger
Appearing: April 15 at Schubas in Chicago.
Click here to download a sample of “The Cosmic Door.”
