Crash Solo Debut Success – Hardly Criminal

Los Angeles – One may recognize crash’s angelic falsetto from the indie folk musical collective Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeroes, but Hardly Criminal proves that he can enchant and mesmerize all on his own. The 11-track solo debut album is a tidal wave of emotion that appropriately crashes with a perfect balance of groove, shake, heartache, and soul.

The former Deadly Syndrome frontman’s opening titular track rumbles with a mellow jazzy swagger and his winding road of trials and wonder begins. Besides the apparent poetic and musical talent he showcases, perhaps the most intriguing facet of the compilation is the obvious influence from his Louisiana upbringing with a healthy dose of monster truck rallies, local rodeos, family bonfires, and his ole’ Pawpaw’s country band. It is that foot-stomping, southern quality that brings the music to life and gives it such a uniquely familiar feeling.

The album’s first single, “Motion Animal,” is laced with the same free-spirited feeling that made Edward Sharpe so beloved, but takes a hypnotizing turn with an old school twang. Then comes “If God Was A Cajun”. It thumps and whistles with piano-play and jolly percussion in such a warm tone that it’s like a skip down the streets of bustling New Orleans.

What is so genius and refreshing about Hardly Criminal is because it is layered with crash’s life experience, it is impossible to designate to one genre. Is crash strumming blues or Americana? Is he folksy or country? The answer: it’s all and none of them. His music is so ripe with sound that it can only be described as simply crash.

Those upbeat offerings are intertwined with thoughtful, introspective musings. Crash’s chords croon memories in “High Wall” — slow dancing with high-pitched harmonies and swift string moves. “I remember this one storm passing that had us defenseless,” crash recalls. “That’s when I gave up my guns and ran from my possessions. When all that we had won’t last because it’s useless.” This is what his live shows are all about: a raw, ragged portrayal of human existence with love and music being the only thing he is sure of. Crash’s face may smile the same way his instruments loosely play together, but it is clear that there are wounds still healing from what he has endured.

Self-reflection continues with “Refinally.” Here, crash displays a tenor that skillfully trembles with exquisite vulnerability about conquering pain he finds so “free and aplenty”.   The strumming guitar and simple taps of percussion is kindly complimentary to earthly metaphors of cleansing rain after waiting “like diamonds in the mine”.

The very last song, “Almighty Equal,” is a potent ending that is left to linger in mind and inspire meditation. “Almighty Equal” rounds out the well-balanced collection with instructions on how to survive tragic loss and a call for community. “Remember the day when we were all together,” crash recalls and repeats with drums rolling behind.

By the album’s end, one can’t help but want to learn more about the story of this artist with an obvious fervor for all of life’s offerings — all of it’s ups and downs, and all while dancing to his own scruffy cool beats. It is difficult to believe that such magical wisdom is only one chapter of crash’s journey.

Hardly Criminal is available for purchase on ITunes today.

Visit crash’s Facebook to review his upcoming U.S. tour dates.

Ariela Kozin

Ariela Kozin

Ariela was born and raised on Los Angeles' creative hunger and booming sounds. She grew up humming the Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan records her mother played on repeat until a driver's license gave her the freedom to obsessively explore the live music scene. It only seemed natural that when Ariela went to journalism school, she paired her love of writing with her passion for discovering amazing new music.
Ariela Kozin