Cross Record – Wabi Sabi

Cross Record - Best New Bands

Los Angeles – Like another artist Best New Bands has covered, Israel Nash, Emily Cross and her husband Dan Duszynski decamped from a major metropolis to the remote town of Dripping Springs, TX to further their musical pursuits. Cross and Duszynski rented a sprawling property in the Texas Hill Country, known as Moon Phase Ranch, working 60-hour weeks in order to spend the off-hours recording what would become the magnificent Wabi-Sabi.  While Nash used the idyllic setting of the town to inspire his straightforward alt-country sound, Cross Record take the influence of Dripping Springs in haunting, atmospheric and altogether unexpected directions.

The nine songs on Wabi-Sabi manage to be instantly memorable without ever following a traditional pop song structure. Instead, they rely heavily on loud/quiet dynamics and intriguing soundscapes that suck the listener into their crystalline world of acoustic guitars, breathy vocals, and disarming electronic flourishes. Minimalism is the operative word on this release, with Cross at times taking a backseat to the pulsating instrumental landscapes behind her – but when it comes time to belt it out, like on the middle portion of “Steady Waves,” she is more than capable.

While “Steady Waves” provides the first big highlight of Wabi-Sabi, it is quickly upstaged by the following track and first single “High Rise”. It begins simple enough, with one of the album’s most straightforward moments: a simple acoustic guitar pattern is strummed out like a lo-fi acoustic punk ballad. Cross’s vocals instantly take the song into another direction, and along with a piercing lead guitar, make it a slow-burn of a song, simultaneously chill and chilling.

Upon first listen, “Something Unseen Touches a Flower to My Forehead” feels like a highlight, but in the end may be the biggest liability on the record, just about as overwrought as its title suggests. Luckily, it’s still a pretty great song and is followed up by one of the most sublime moments on the record, “The Depths.” Cross soothes listener with her angelic voice, distracting the listener from the fact that the backing instrumentals become increasingly sinister as the seconds tick away. “Wasp in a Jar” is the album’s punk-rock moment, with a guitar riff in the verse that could easily be retooled to fit into a doom-metal song.

One of the most refreshing aspects of Wabi-Sabi is the restraint that Cross shows. Instead of allowing these songs to push the seven-to-eight minute mark, they rarely surpass four minutes. While the songwriting is certainly strong enough to merit songs that reach those epic proportions, each track leaves the listener wanting more, anxious to hear what is around the corner. Juxtaposing bluesy, sometimes metallic heaviness with gorgeously ethereal vocals that are able to disguise the dirge, Cross Record have created one of the most unexpectedly incredible albums of the young 2016.

Cross Record plan to announce a tour for this spring very soon, so keep an eye on the band’s official website for any information. In the meantime they have an album release party scheduled for February 6 at Mohawk in Austin, TX.
Matt Matasci

Matt Matasci

Perhaps it was years of listening to the eclectic and eccentric programming of KPIG-FM with his dad while growing up on the Central Coast of California, but Matt Matasci has always rebuffed mainstream music while seeking unique and under-the-radar artists.Like so many other Californian teenagers in the 90s and 00s, he first started exploring the alternative music world through Fat Wreck Chords skate-punk.This simplistic preference eventually matured into a more diverse range of tastes - from the spastic SST punk of Minutemen to the somber folk-tales of Damien Jurado, and even pulverizing hardcore from bands like Converge.He graduated from California Lutheran University with a BA in journalism.Matt enjoys spending his free time getting angry at the Carolina Panthers, digging through the dollar bin at Amoeba, and taking his baby daughter to see the Allah-Lahs at the Santa Monica Pier.
Matt Matasci