Only Crime "To the Nines" CD
[Fat]
I picked this up not because the band features members of Good Riddance (Russ Rankin on vocals), the Descendents (Bill Stevenson on drums), and Bane (Aaron Dalbec on guitar), among others (though that doesn't hurt), but because I heard a song on a sampler and it kicked ass. The end result is a brief full-length containing 11 tracks of quite diverse hardcore/punk that I thoroughly enjoy. Opener "R.J.R." sounds a shitload like Black Flag circa "Damaged" with a cleaner recording (of course), leading into the more melodic and catchy "Sedated", which leads into the slightly heavier (but still damn catchy) "Doomsday Breach", and so on, and so forth. The cool thing is that it really doesn't sound anything like the members' most notable full-time acts, nor is it one-sided, nor is it the least bit derivative. In fact, despite the fact that there are a good number of notable influences here, this is actually pretty uniquely identifiable as its own thing in this day and age. The vocals are positioned right on the line between subtle singing and shouting, the music ranges from openly melodic and slightly upbeat to darker and heavier or more jarring and textured, and the songwriting is really memorable - packed into quick tracks average two to three minutes apiece. The title track and "On Time" are others that nod to Black Flag (especially the latter), "Tenebrae" mixes an extremely catchy chorus with some chunky rhythmic riffing and lots of discordant chords/notes, and "The Well" is slightly more straightforward (sort of like a non-obnoxious and more modern take on early Bad Religion) but still throws in some obscure layers of guitar textures. I like the recording as well. It's fairly dry and natural with a well balanced mix. The vocals lean a tad out in front, but the bass is really audible and drives the rhythm section, the drums sound great, and I think the guitar tone's middleground presence works nicely for the various writing styles exemplified herein. It's not too heavy for the melodic stuff, it's not too thin for the harder edged stuff, and it's clear enough for the caustic runs to still sound crisp and tightly performed. A great job overall. The layout is pretty minimal with a few color band photos and mostly black, white, and red artwork depicting evidence photos, fingerprints, and other such bits and pieces that relate to the band name. The lyrics are much more involved than expected though, all very open, mostly personal, but a few hinting at larger messages that probably have a socio-political undercurrent. "Find I've strayed from the course of least resistance, Losing sight of the prize like a faint and distant scar, Forced it down with the rest, Of the bitterness and humility not less, Than the air we simply breathe and sterilize..." Good stuff. Much different than I had expected. I almost wish they'd go ahead and lose the Black Flag-isms and shoot for more of the catchy material, because when they do it's basically just perfectly written melodic hardcore/punk, there's no bullshit, it's not poppy or cheap at all, the message is solid... I don't know, I just like it. The other songs are strong too, but they're at their best on the more melodically balanced side. There are a slew of great songs here regardless. Certainly one to check out. (7/10)
Running time - 28:08, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Sedated, Doomsday Breach, Tenebrae, The Well]
Only Crime - http://www.onlycrime.com

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