I could not have picked a better night to go out to Oakland to see the headline tour from Crosses. I remember seeing their debut tour over a decade ago when I lived in Boston, at the Paradise Rock Club. That night, the venue was packed to the gills, and I distinctly remember being by the soundboard and seeing the separate rack settings and notes for Chino Moreno’s microphone and effects. It was a pretty cool glimpse inside the live sound of the guy who I have followed since the mid-nineties with Deftones. But much like Maynard James Keenan and Puscifer, it does seem like Crosses is his favorite child and passion. Along with his partner Shawn Lopez, formerly of the awesome and now defunct Sacramento band Far. They make for a sick team of creatives. Continue reading →
Florida/Atlanta three-piece Moodring has certainly been consistent with their output since they released showmetherealyou (UNFD) in 2021, with a number of singles and last years long-player Stargazer, gaining them some serious recognition.
Crosses a.k.a. ††† the duo made up of Deftones’ Chino Moreno and producer/multi-instrumentalist Shaun Lopez has shared a new remix of their track “Day One (Machinedrum remix).” You can stream the track on all DSPs and watch an official visualizer below. This is the first new music from the band since their cover of George Michael’s “One More Try” for their annual Christmas covers series. The group released their new EP, Permanent.Radiant (read our review here). Continue reading →
Palms just dropped two previously unreleased songs, their first new music since their self-titled debut album 10 years ago. You can stream and purchase “Opening Titles: and “End Credits” right now from Bandcamp. The post-Rock, post-Metal band is compromised of Chino Moreno of Deftones and Crosses, along with Aaron Harris, Jeff Caxide, and Bryant Clifford Meyer who were bandmates in the much-missed ISIS, as well as Red Sparrowes (Caxide and Meyer) and Zozobra. The band also has a brief message on their page with the hashtag #palms10, hopefully indicating further activity from the group this year.
With their third outing Texas-based Narrow Head have created a body of music that if you were there, will well and truly spin you back in time to the mid-nineties. And if you weren’t there but nonetheless love the alternative rock sound of the time, then you’ll also find yourself intriguingly transported back to the era when baggy clothes and dirty scuzzy guitar riffs were the sign of the times. And on top of that Moments Of Clarity (Church Road Records) may well be considered a classic today, was it released some 25-30 years ago amongst the influences that it clearly wears on its sleeve.
And the record stands out today, as it lulls you into a sense of security before changing style and introducing heavier elements where the band sounds on their peak for me, before then throwing in a highly experimental closer. So the album opens with ‘The Real’ and a fuzzy grunge riff, with the vocal of Jacob Duarte sounding somewhere between an early Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, and an early Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan. There is a lighter nineties indie alternative rock style to the sound, which continues into ‘Moments Of Clarity’ invoking memories from the likes of Weezer, Placebo, and The Lemonheads. It’s clear from the first couple of tracks that Narrow Head can write one hell of a catchy riff with highly engaging vocal hooks, and then on ‘Sunday’ they introduce a Deftones-esq riff which more than hints at what’s to come.
‘Trepnation’ kicks like a mule with dirtier down-tuned guitars and a heavy chugging bass, and my attention has well and truly been captured by the change in tone. ‘Breakup Song’ is melancholic with a lovely entwine between the main riff and a rolling bass, while ‘Fine Day’ is another sweet heavy cut with crunching guitars.
On ‘Carline’ Narrow Head reverts back to the more melodic feel of the album’s first quarter, but from here it changes tact once again with the darker muddy sounding ‘The World Sunday’ and the explosive ‘Gearhead’, which slams into a late-nineties era Deftones style, with Duarte channeling a shoe-gaze Chino Moreno vocal. And with the first screams on the album laid down before a furious outro of impressive drumming and heavy distortion … More of this, please!
And the band delivers on ‘Flesh & Solitude’ with the further subtle use of screams in amongst the heavy intoxicating music with a beautiful outro of avant-garde percussive cacophony. The aptly titled ‘The Comedown’ follows with lush strumming and kind of a Pearl Jam flavour, which gradually builds to the climax of ‘Soft To Touch’ where a mischievous guitar line perfectly plays over electronic beats. I love the way this album twists and turns from the indie rock style into a heavier alternative beast, before turning full circle and then going completely leftfield with the use of electronica. And these changes in tone create a real album experience which should definitely be absorbed as one. This is where rock music needs to be, for me, in 2023.
Crosses a.k.a. ††† the duo made up of Deftones’ Chino Moreno and producer/multi-instrumentalist Shaun Lopez has shared heir cover of George Michael’s “One More Try” accompanied by an animated visualizer. Releasing covers is now a holiday tradition for the duo, with last year’s rendition of “Goodbye Horses” by Q Lazarus. With the Crosses touch on it, this 1980’s heartbreaking ballad takes on an even greater weight, considering the upcoming 8th anniversary of George Michael’s death on Christmas Day. The group just released their new EP, Permanent.Radiant (read our review here). Purchase, stream and Watch “One More Try” here! Continue reading →
Crosses, or ††† if you prefer, really prefers foreplay to making love. The synthwave and electro-rock music duo made up of Deftones’ frontman Chino Moreno and Far producer/ multi-instrumentalist Shaun Lopez has been teasing us for over a year with singles, a top-tier cover, and pulse-quickening videos as they readied their new EP, Permanent.Radiant (Warner Music Group). Fit in and around Chino’s heavy schedule with Deftones and Shaun’s producing work, the new EP continues to build upon the path they laid out, minus former collaborator Chuck Doom, who has departed the project.
Nuclear Blast Records have had a storming year, and they continue their hot streak with the release of Hell Is Where The Heart Is by Oceans. The four piece whose members hail from Berlin and Vienna released their debut EP Into The Void in 2019 followed by Cover Me In Darkness, a second EP in the same year featuring their interpretations of tracks from the likes of Alice In Chains, Deftones and Radiohead, before dropping their debut LP The Sun And The Cold in 2020.
Since their inception in 2010, Polyphia have proven to be an ever-moving entity; one that is hugely (and purposefully) hard to pigeonhole, even across the duration of each album. Armed with potent musicianship across the board, the band have ever expanded their sound from their early days culminating currently to a cauldron of styles and tones across. It is likely you will hear this about many artists but it is a sentiment that reigns entirely true on Remember That You Will Die (Rise Records).
Whenever an established act loses its frontman, especially one as talismanic as Max Cavalera, fans are usually left choosing sides. Do you go with the musician striking out on their own or do your allegiances remain with the band? Largely dependent on the situation, an amicable split can leave listeners happily following both parties down separate paths to the promise of glory but when open hostility is at the heart of the separation, loyalties are often put to the test.Continue reading →
