The Classic Crime - Albatross

Rating

single starsingle starsingle star

RIYL

Switchfoot
Fall Out Boy
Plain White T’s
Yesterday’s Rising

Tracklist

1. The Fight
2. Flight Of Kings
3. Who Needs Air
4. Blisters And Coffee
5. The Coldest Heart
6. All The Memories
7. Say The Word
8. I Know The Feeling
9. The Poet
10. The Bitter Uprising
11. We All Look Elsewhere
12. Headlights

Users Rating

Create an account or log in to rate this album

Your Rating

Create an account or log in to rate this album

A quick glance over The Classic Crime’s bio will have you reading that their first release on Tooth & Nail is a truly original effort that’s poised to leave its mark on the music industry. I find the album to be a good effort, but not overly original or bound to make much of a lasting impact on today’s scene. With Fall Out Boy style vocals for the majority of the album, a lot of the pressure to bring something new and relevant rests on the musicianship. The music, however, doesn’t always deliver as one would hope, with there being too many stints that sound thin or lackluster.

The first two songs, “The Fight” and “Flight of Kings”, build up hopes for a very strong album. Those hopes are quickly betrayed by the disc’s third track, “Who Needs Air”, which is a yawn of a ballad. From there, the band moves on to two more of their noteworthy tracks, “Blisters & Coffee” and “The Coldest Heart”. “Blisters & Coffee” feature gang vocals that scream to be performed live for that perfect crowd participation moment, and “The Coldest Heart” has a great sing-along chorus that would likely do the same.

It’s at track 6, “All the Memories”, that the band loses me for a four track span until “The Bitter Uprising”. These four further hinder the package as a whole with their slightly generic sound and lack of meaningful contribution. “The Bitter Uprising” sees the band pick up a little more steam as it then goes into the remaining rock song of the album, “We All Look Elsewhere” (which is probably tied for best song on the album with the “The Fight”). I’m definitely a fan of a band that can pull off both ends of the spectrum on one album, but I feel these guys would be better off leaving songs such as the closer, “Headlights”, off the disc. It’s not a bad song, but again, doesn’t add a lot to the album, and comes off just sounding “blah”. It reminds me of the Maroon 5 ballad “She Will Be Loved” at times in the chorus, and though I know they were aiming for more of a “from the heart ballad” sound, it really came off more of a contemporary adult listening song.

I really want to like the band for all the moments that they really do display the extent of their talent, but I feel that wading through the blander material to find the gems leaves me wanting to move on. It’s a decent disc, but just doesn’t move me like it should. Hopefully they continue to realize their potential, develop their own sound, and produce more songs like “The Fight” or “We All Look Elsewhere” that draw you back for multiple re-listens.

--Jeremy Deal

Author

Jeremy Deal
Last updated: 09/29/2009 08:54PM

Comments

SoUsed
06/29/2006
07:39AM
Location
Illinois
Fall Out Boy style vocals? I never had trouble understanding anything...
JohnnyL
06/29/2006
07:42AM
Age: 30
Location
Columbus, Ohio
I agree w/ Jeremy. There are a handful of songs on here that are REALLY strong and show tons of potential, but unfortunately the disc is a bit inconsistent. With that being said, Classic Crime, I think, will be a big player in the music industry in the coming years.

Recommending: Anberlin, Interpol, Chamberlain, House of Heroes

theseed30
06/29/2006
08:48AM
Location
Cincinnati
I would have given it at least 3.5, maybe 4 stars. I really enjoyed this album from the first listen. Not ground breaking, but really fun to listen to. One of my favorites this year so far.

oh yeah....i didn't hear any fall out boy lyrics in there, hmmmm...maybe i should listen again?
Jeremy Deal
06/29/2006
08:52AM
Age: 32
Pardon me, but I did hear some strong similarities between the fellows vocal tone and that of the fellow from Fall Out Boy. I stick by that. Not lyrics - vocal tone. The lyrics were nothing alike. Sorry to say it, since I know FOB is the band to pick on right now, it seems, but they were also my best comparison point for how the guys voice sounded to me. Not the worst thing either - he could sound like Geddy Lee (I still can't tolerate that dude's voice for some reason)

"These are our lives, but did they ever even matter - are we worth remembering?"
- "Tip The Scales"
Rise Against

tim
06/29/2006
06:46PM
Age: 28
Location
Green Brook, NJ
i listened to this because i saw it at my job, and i couldn't get into it. i think it's one of the worse tooth & nail acts right now.
JohnnyL
06/29/2006
07:14PM
Age: 30
Location
Columbus, Ohio
They had the best debut in T&N history.

Recommending: Anberlin, Interpol, Chamberlain, House of Heroes

Matt
07/01/2006
06:23AM
Location
UK
It seems they tried to produce songs in as many different styles as possible to appeal to all fans, however they ended up producing the occasional gem in the styles that suit them i.e. "The Fight" and plenty of rubbish in the styles they aren't so good at i.e. most of the rest of the album.

I think there'll be plenty of people disappointed with this album after a lot of hype was generated from songs like "The Fight" but the rest of the album failed to live up to it. They really need to decide what type of band they want to be and just go with it.
Jeremy Deal
07/01/2006
08:53AM
Age: 32
Matt, I would definitely say you are dead on with this summation. That's kinda what I was getting at too.

"These are our lives, but did they ever even matter - are we worth remembering?"
- "Tip The Scales"
Rise Against