Dryvetyme Onlyne

The Crash That Took Me
Orchestrated Kaleidoscopes
Idol Records; 2007

Whatever happened to bands who sought to make music with big sounds and big ideas, yet refused to rely upon an ever-widening set of competing crescendos? When did it become cool and trendy for bands to “out-epic” each other and themselves with every possible track? Is it not possible to compose a large-sounding song without making it sound like we’re all rushing headlong into some quickly approaching apocalypse? While bombast, passion, bravado, and showmanship (show-woman-ship?) have been an integral aspect of making great music for centuries, might it be time to reclaim big anthems from even bigger egos?

(Yes, I’m looking at you Mozart! You too Bono! Oh, and just so your feelings don’t get hurt too badly, I’ll also look at you Chris Martin.)

The Crash That Took Me has a bit of an answer for those questions and they’ve entitled it Orchestrated Kaleidoscopes. Based out of Dallas, TX, this band has crafted a record filled with swirling guitars, funky fuzz pedals, and thick drumming, yet manages to keep their posturing and swaggering to a minimum. The album is more psychedelia than polemics, more experimentation than exposition, and while there’s over-the-top emotion aplenty on these songs, the listener doesn’t feel bludgeoned by the heart on the singer’s sleeve. With solid cuts like “We’re Disintegration,””Julianne,” and “Two Yellow Suns,” The Crash That Took Me evidently knows how to write their fair share of enrapturing, arena-filling anthems.

What sets them apart from their peers is that they’re also able to keep their music balanced. It can be difficult to truly appreciate a crescendo or a quickened tempo if there’s no decrescendo or slow-burning pace to precede it. For every ringing lead guitar or booming bass drums in a song, there’s a quietly patient intermezzo seeking to provide clarity and stability. While there are times when it seems as if the musicians and listeners might teeter off the edge into sonic oblivion with the volume of the song, it’s hard not to allow for a bit of bluster — they are musicians after all. Nevertheless, no matter one’s predilections regarding how larger-than-life rock music is supposed to be, Orchestrated Kaleidoscopes is a rich, crowd-pleasing album made by master artisans.