Chino Moreno’s been one hell of a busy guy of late. Not only did the Deftones frontman spend a large chunk of last year on the road touring his primary band’s latest record, but he also found time to release the fantastic Palms collaboration with three former ISIS members. Now, with Deftones about to hit our shores for the second time in eight months, another quality Moreno side-project has slipped quietly into existence.
Well, to be fair, ††† (Crosses) – the collaboration between Moreno and Shaun Lopez of post-hardcore band Far – have been pursuing their shadowy brand of ambient electronica for a few years now. 2011 saw the release of their debut † EP, which they followed up in 2012 with the †† EP. Their latest offering combines all ten cuts from the EPs plus five previously unreleased songs. Thus, ††† is more of an archival collection than a stand-alone record. Still, given that all 15 songs were tracked at around the same time, the album doesn’t suffer from a lack of cohesiveness that plagues similar releases.
Guided by Moreno’s trademark sensual croon, ††† is a tour through the darkside of goth-tinged electro pop. There’s the groove-heavy (Telepathy, This Is A Trick), the spacey (Nineteen Eighty Seven, Crosses) and the flat-out anthemic (Bitches Brew, Prurient). Sure, the songwriting could do with a little more inventiveness, with the majority of songs conforming to the verse-chorus formula. And at 56 minutes, the album is at least ten minutes too long. Still, ††† is an otherwise excellent outing from a band that defies its side-project status and demands a seat at the table with its bigger siblings.
BY WAYNE MARSHALL
Best Track: Prurient.
If You Like These, You’ll Like This: DEFTONES, DEPECHE MODE, BLAQK AUDIO.
In A Word: Assured.
