I’d love to know when Chino Moreno decided he’d figured out the rest of his career as a vocalist. For whatever reason, Chino has nestled his vocals into this “art school outsider” sadness trip, and he’s running with it. Team Sleep was the heavy variation of it, Palms was the weird niche version, and Crosses ††† is the Depeche Mode version.
The new Crosses album is a collection of the first two EPs re-mastered, as well as five new tracks. Moreno, along with Far/Revolution Smile mastermind Shaun Lopez and Chuck Doom, set up a wall of electronica sound, something in the vein of art-metal-alternative-confidential. Within that structure, Crosses runs into their biggest issue. Cohesion.
Crosses sounds like the first mixtape you ever made for a girl you liked. It’s all very emotional. All layered with deep feelings about reaching out against the darkness of the human condition. It’s clear Chino and his boys really mean this, the problem is they can’t decide what they want to be. The album opens strong with “This Is A Trick”. Originally from the first EP, the tune brings in strong Songs Of Faith And Devotion era Depeche Mode. Cool. Okay, Chino and the boys are going to be emotional dark mascara music. Cool.
Song two hits. “Telepathy”. Suddenly Crosses is trying to tap into some serious Nine Inch Nails territory, circa The Downward Spiral. “Bitches Brew” is next, and suddenly Crosses have morphed into Filter. “Thhlyghst” owes more to Portishead than the band would admit to, with just a dash of Atari Teenage Riot. “The Epilogue” comes up, and now Crosses is encroaching in on some Morrissey territory.
Outside of the lack of cohesion, the songs don’t really go anywhere. Chino comes across more as whining creeper than a dark, suffering artist. Even when there are musical swells and releases, the production halts them all at a flat line. It’s as if Crosses discovered the compression tool in the studio and absolutely fell in love with it. By track fifteen, your head hurts from the lack of cohesion, but you’re also bored. The most egregious sin of the entire album is the final track, “Death Bell,” which takes meandering self-indulgence to a new level. Crosses could have ended on a strong note, which might have made it less aggravating. Nope, the band decided to end it with the worst song on the album.
I appreciate Chino’s efforts. When most popular musicians attempt a side project, it’s just another version of their original group. With all of his diversions, Chino has tried to do something different. Granted his phrasing and singing style tend to stay the same, but at least he’s attempting to exercise his demons on various artistic treadmills. Crosses sound bored. In all their photos they look bored. If the idea was to make music that matches the boredom vibe they’re giving off, then Crosses has achieved their goal in spades.
