Chino Moreno has never been shy at exploring his mellower side away from Deftones, and over the years has dipped into the Post-Rock, Shoegaze and Trip-Hop genres providing us with some highly refined music by way of projects such as Team Sleep and Palms, his collaboration with three former members of Post-Metal kings Isis.
But perhaps his most elegant ‘side’ hussle started in 2011 when he linked up with his childhood friend, Far guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Shaun Lopez for the Gothic-Dark-Wave musings of Crosses. The duo teamed up with various guest musicians including Duff McKagan, Chuck Doom and Far drummer Chris Robyn to release a number of EPs and play a handful of shows together, before signing with Sumerian Records and releasing their debut self-titled LP in 2013 while recording a video for the mesmerising and melancholic ‘Bitches Brew.’
The band seemingly then drifted away following the release of a new EP in 2014, leaving many wondering whether the project was to be one of those special short-lived collaborations. However in 2020 rumblings of the musicians reigniting proved fruitful with new material drip feeding at the end of the year and into 2021, when it was then also announced they had signed a record deal with major label Warner Music, the current home of Deftones also.
In 2022 Crosses ramped up the pace and delivered new singles including the delectable ‘Vivien,’ a song which almost sounds like a companion piece to ‘Bitches Brew’ in terms of its haunting style and tone, before dropping the EP Permanent.Radiant at the end of the year. And as if all of that lovely new material from Crosses wasn’t enough, Chino and Lopez seem as if they are absolutely flying creatively right now with the release just ten months later of their second full length album and first for Warner, Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete.
The record comes in with a mammoth fifteen new songs and journeys through a minimalistic wall of sound which takes in many genres and influences with a heavy lean towards the Electronica. Their sound is perfectly encapsulated on opener ‘Pleasure’ which features a wonky synth intro before the entrance of Chino’s soulful croon. This song is a real classy interpretation of an 80s Dark-Wave sound, with beautifully simple yet effective repetition and a little bit of a John Carpenter vibe in the Synth work.
And for me it is when Crosses deliver their darker moodier material such as on ‘Bitches Brew’ and ‘Vivien’ that they are at their very finest, and ‘Pleasure’ very much takes the lead from this side of their song-writing, as does ‘Invisible Hand’ where Chino delivers the line “Ready or not, We start again” before letting rip with a scream as a sludgy bassline drops. The song is incredibly catchy when the percussion hits on the chorus and this kind of infectious hook is prevalent once again on the bouncy ‘Natural Selection’ and the beautifully composed ‘Girls Float / Boys Cry,’ with The Cure’s legendary singer Robert Smith taking over the chorus.
On the flip side of the coin Crosses also deliver moments of softer melody throughout, such as on the dreamy ‘Light As A Feather’ which has a 70s Disco-Funk bassline as well as the angelic ‘Runner,’ and on the stripped back euphoria of ‘Grace.’ The duo also provide some impressive moments of experimentation, notably with the rhythmically Dub-Step paced ‘Found,’ the off-beat noise of ‘Eraser,’ and with the sci-fi electro vibe of ‘Pulse Plagg.’
Often the songs rely on a tonally exquisite and often pulsating bass sound, which hits hard on ‘Big Youth’ where Run The Jewels rapper EL-P adds some lyrical nuance, as well as on ‘Ghost Ride’ where there is also a mesmerising darkness to Chino’s voice. The journey completes with the title track and Crosses signing off as Chino sings “Sweet dreams and Goodnight!” It’s great to have Crosses back as their first album is one to return to time and time again when you’re in the mood for this style of music and the alluring sound of Chino’s vocal chords so often conveyed in the mellower Deftones moments. And Goodnight, God Bless, I Love U, Delete delivers another fine and eclectic Synth heavy genre record for your shelf.
Buy the album here:
8 / 10
ABSTRAKT_SOUL