Music Junk Selection #1: Crash Kings

     

WHY I'M HERE AND WHY YOU SHOULD BE

     Well, here we are.  The beginning.  What can be said other than, "I hope I'm doing this right."  To start, I'm a 23 year-old, college-dropout Idahoan.  I don't even know if I used those little hyphen things correctly, but I am from Idaho so good enough, right?  I'll try not to get too caught up on those matters and get to the point here.  This blog was made in hopes that some of the people reading it will discover new music that they like.  I've always had an ability and desire for finding good new music and now I've decided to turn that into more of a structured format.  I am far from an expert on music, but I feel I have an ear for quality and the reasons behind that quality; not necessarily a strict diagnosis of the science of music, but one that parses out why we find beauty in it.  Ultimately, I think I can find you new music that you will enjoy.
     
     Now to get to the opinionated stuff.  I don't believe that pop music is inherently bad, but I do believe that it is more inclined to lack real depth; both in sentiment and general songwriting.  You will see plenty of pop (genre) posts on here, but not necessarily pop (popular) posts.  While we're on that thread, the genres that will be discussed on here will look something like this:  rock, pop, soul, electronic, hip-hop, classical, jazz, blues, and plenty of sub-genres.  Some of you country fans out there might have noticed that God's chosen music wasn't on that list.  I am open to the idea that good country music exists, I just haven't found any that stands out yet.  If there is some artist that you think I should know about send me a message and a link and I'll look into it.

     One thing that this blog will have is full-length songs of the featured artist through youtube so you won't have to go searching for samples of their stuff.  The youtube videos will be off the official "Music Junk" youtube channel (when at all possible) where I'll be uploading all of this music personally.  I want readers/listeners to be able to hear these bands right off the bat to find out whether they like 'em or not.
     

MUSIC JUNK SELECTION #1:
CRASH KINGS - TITLE ALBUM

     I feel like I've said all that I need to say, so let's get down to business.  The first artist that I want to present as "Music Junk Approved" (whatever that means) is the group "CRASH KINGS" and their 2009 debut title album.

                                                              GENRE: Rock

                                                              SUB-GENRE: Piano Rock
                                                              MEMBERS: Tony Beliveau, Mike Beliveau, Jason Morris

     

     The "Crash Kings" are a solid band for a list of reasons.  The drum beats are a clear and powerful force that contribute to the dynamic of every song while the bass lines are much more forefront than most rock bands would generally allow.  That choice served them well, especially with the deep growling distortion they use on several songs.  The bass is not just adding a background or more volume for this band; it has rhythm and character, moving more like a guitar riff rather than a typical rock 'n' roll bass-line.  But the thing that separates the "Crash Kings" from just about every other rock band is their front-man. He plays the piano, as well as an instrument that I had never heard of before called a clavinet.  It is a keyboard made like a guitar amp and even goes so far as to have a whammy bar protruding from the top.

     Despite hearing guitar-like sounds from this band, it is only the clavinet.  The second reason their front-man stands above the rest is his vocal range.  He hits every single note on this album with his chest voice and he does it with serious power.  I have not heard a voice like this in a long time.  It adds a ton, but don't take my word for it, listen for yourself.  I have linked three songs on here from their 2009 debut album.  The first song is their single "Mountain Man."  Many have compared it to Jack White's side project "The Raconteurs" which I would say is a pretty accurate comparison.
                                       
                                                              MOUNTAIN MAN

The next song on the list is "14 Arms."  This song starts off like a ruckus and leads into an incredible hook for a chorus.

                                                              14 ARMS

The third and final song is "Saving Grace" which truly demonstrates Tony's incredible range.

                                                              SAVING GRACE

To narrow it down, here are the specific good qualities from the Crash King's title album:

1. Powerful Drumbeats
2. Guitar-Riff-Like Bass Lines
3. Incredible Lead Vocal Range
4. Some Good Chord Progressions
5. Proper Dynamic Build on Most Songs

     They have released two albums at this point, but this post speaks only to their first album because of the complete and stand-alone work that it is.  The Crash Kings second album, "Dark of the Daylight" has some great moments, but it is definitely a different sound and not quite as cohesive as their title album.  While not as strong, it's still worth a listen and may be addressed more in depth down the road.

     Thanks for taking time to hear these guys and I hope that I gave you something new to add to your regular listening.


Official Music Junk Video links here because blogger wouldn't let me insert my channel's videos:
Mountain Man - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgMvGVfmfwc
14 Arms - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACoULHU0D8A
Saving Grace - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcVpkdIa1l8