Reviewed by Gareth Hills

Having registered with such albums as 'Albatross' (2006) and 'The Silver Cord' (2008) the Seattle-based indie rock band have a good support base amongst believers even though the "are they a Christian band?" shtick has muddied the pond a bit. Putting this in the CD player I quickly began to pick up on the subtleties within the heavy production work and chunky riffage. The album straddles that elusive fine line between melodic songwriting and the edginess of traditional alternative rock - as the tracks "Solar Powered Life", and "A Perfect Voice" aptly demonstrate - and the band aren't afraid to diverge a little from the traditional melodic rock formula. Tracks such as "Broken Mess", and "The Happy Nihilist" for instance, makes sensitive use of both acoustic and heavier sections. Lyrically, the songs also offer a little more than the usual guitar-driven alt-rock offering - I really enjoyed "The Happy Nihilist", and "Cheap Shots" is a defiant fist to all the world can throw at you. There's nothing too groundbreaking here, but if you're searching for accomplished, well-produced alt-rock written by guys with good musical sense, 'The Classic Crime' will definitely not disappoint.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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