Cross Wires - Your History Defaced E.P.
Quick review of the much anticipated follow up to 'Assembly' e.p. From these Essex new-wave heroes.This e.p. is just as good as the last,with all the energy and hook-filled retro punk we're coming to expect from Romford's finest.The echoes of the halcyon days of new-wave & punk are a constant in all the songs but in no way take over.The Cross Wires sound is very much their own & a fucking great sound at that! The e.p. is available to listen to on Bandcamp,so get on it! It's a monster!! Kicks off with 'Modern Art',rumbling bass,jabbing guitar and a proper geezer of a vocal,all added to by the sublime backing vocal.bit of an XTC feel to this track,loverly.Next up,'Shades of Light and Dark',energetic intro with a 'vapors'-like hook running through and another great vocal.oh and air-drumming is mandatory to this track.Just try and resist if you can.Track 3 is 'Tab Clear',once more a frantic intro leads into a wondrous piece of 'now-wave'music,there are a lot of bands doing retro sounding music but none who make it sound as current as Cross Wires manage to do.oh and there's a killer bass line in this track as well.This is a band right on top of their game and if they ever venture oop north then I'm there.would love to see them live.Next,'Last Stand',one of the standout tracks for me.Strong lyrics,very tuneful,cracks along like an indie track until the chorus.then hell is unleashed; heavy punk mayhem of the highest order,fucking love it.I bet this goes down well at gigs,be bodies flying all over the place.and finally 'Vultures' which vies with 'Last Stand' for best track on the e.p. A real d.i.y. old fashioned punk feel to it.Raw,aggressive,with a cool synth sound squelching in alongside a battering ram of a drum beat.Shades of 'Spiral Scratch' and that kind of vibe.All in all,another top batch from a pretty amazing band.cheers lads.please release some more stuff on cd or better still,vinyl.think you are made for that format.maddferret.