Crash Love

Eighteen years ago, four skateboarding teenagers from Ukiah, California decided to start a band. The boy elected to front the band was shy, scrawny and wore over sized misfits tshirts. Their first songs were basic, lacking any real structure and written about mini trucks, cereal and sex changes.

This September, they will release their eighth studio album, “Crash Love” over three years after the chart topping “Decemberunderground”. In true AFI style, there has been plenty of secrecy surrounding the release of this highly anticipated album. After a few weeks of teasing fans via Twitter, the track list and cover art was revealed, gearing up to the release of the biggest CD of their career.

I was lucky enough to get an early insight into the masterpiece that AFI are about to unleash. Like all of their work, this is nothing like their previous release. For me, this picks up where “Sing The Sorrow” left off. Unlike 2006's effort, “Crash Love” captures that trademark AFI passion. It's definitely less aggressive then Sing The Sorrow, but the emotion in the lyrics and the music are almost numbing. The only disappointing aspect of “Crash Love” is the apparent lack of another AFI trademark in an introduction track. Hopefully this leaves the door open for Miseria Cantare to make an appearance once again.

“Crash Love” will feature twelve tracks. (Note. the final order of the tracks is unconfirmed, this is the order they play on our promo copy)

1. Torch Song
2. Beautiful Thieves
3. End Transmission
4. Too Shy To Scream
5. Veronica Sawyer Smokes
6. OK, I Feel Better Now
7. Medicate
8. I Am Trying Very Hard To Be Here
9. Sacrilege
10. Darling, I Want To Destroy You
11. Cold Hands
12. It Was Mine

TRACK BY TRACK

‘Torch Song’ starts off sounding quite eerie before launching into a rocking guitar and drum fueled beat. This transforms into a rather epic sounding piece that is mimicked during the chorus, which features a strong choral backing that is sure to be replicated by AFI fans in a live setting. This entire song oozes with class due to the grand picture that it paints.. It could have been pulled right out of ‘Sing The Sorrow’, and marked down as one of the more powerful tracks. Davey sounds absolutely fantastic. Gone is his somewhat questionable shriek from the past few years while he delivers a flawless vocal performance. The verses have a slight ‘metal’ quality to them. Jade’s guitar work is again, immaculate. He manages to create the perfect sound for the song, which is sure to surprise and delight AFI fans.

‘Beautiful Thieves’ is a slower song with a driving bass line that develops and builds up into a grand chorus with more backing vocals that fans will lap up. This song seems slightly more morbid with Davey questioning his mortality. He poses a number of questions that are sure to tweak the heartstrings of the listener. The simplicity of the verse leaves you feeling quite venerable, and possibly not expecting such a powerful middle section. AFI sure know how to write an emotional number. The song finishes in the same manner as the opening. Slow and beautiful.

‘End Transmission’ has a slight 80’s vibe to the introduction that is evident throughout the entire song. There is piano present through a large portion which is quite uncommon for AFI, but it doesn’t feel forced. It blends in quite nicely with the vibrant pace. There is nothing much that really stands out for me (compared to the previous two tracks). With that said, it’s already at a much higher standard then Decemberunderground.

The start of ‘Too Shy To Scream’ instantly reminded me of Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People”. It is very powerful with some nicely timed clapping in the background. Davey chimes in with strong and clean vocals that see the song develop into a pleasing melodic number. The second verse welcomes back the Manson-like guitar. The lyrics suggest that the song is written about an all consuming attraction for someone. A little while ago, Davey suggested that ‘Crash Love’ as a whole was going to take a look at celebrity culture, so there are many ways that you can interpret this song, either from the perspective of the celebrity, or the fan. This song is incredibly catchy, and one of my favourite tracks on the cd.

'Veronica Sawyer Smokes' (a reference to cult film “Heathers”?) is the least impressive song on the album in my opinion. It isn’t as strong and significant as the other tracks up to this point. At 2:44, it’s also the shortest song on the cd. It seems pleasant, but there isn’t anything that really grabs my attention enough for me to need to listen to it over and over.

‘Ok, I Feel Better Now’ is another epic number. It starts off with some simple slowish guitar strumming, and Davey pouring out his heart, singing, “I had felt elation before all sensation died”. Hunter and Adam take the song to a new level as it builds from something simple into a grand chorus. The song is quite a sad one, speaking about potential heartbreak which could be related to the overall theme of the album, but the lyrics suggest that there is something more hidden beneath the surface. I really enjoyed listening to this song over and over. It wasn’t one that stuck in my head, but there are little things that I keep picking up on that make me feel the need to keep on replaying it. The final part of the song has a slight “Missing Frame” vibe to it (in terms of the backing vocals and drums).

‘Medicate’ is a track that has been floating around on the internet for the past couple of weeks, albeit a very poor quality rip from the new guitar hero game. If you were impressed by the rip, then just wait until you hear the song in it’s entirety. This one opens with some very epic guitar that slaps you in the face when Adam and Hunter join, with Davey chiming in with his trademark “oh!”, much like at the start of ‘This Celluloid Dream’. This song is heavy. Not in the Machine Head sense, but it is sure to create a scene at any AFI gig coming up. The opening and first verse “chug” along and cause some rather involuntary head banging. The song slows down at the bridge, leaving Davey quite vulnerable and emotional, with a slight hint of some electronics in the background that are so subtle that it fits in without standing out too much. After jetting back into the chorus, Jade showcases his talents with a blazing guitar solo that makes the song that much more impressive.

AFI’s ‘Tweet to reveal’ adventure gave us a partial insight into “I Am Trying Very Hard To Be Here”. A video clip on their official website features the five “Begin Transmission” contest winners practicing the backing vocals for the chorus with the band. The song starts with what I can only describe as a ‘dirty rock’ riff that really sets the tone for this moody number. The chorus etches itself in your mind with the chanting from the video, “Flash flash, car crash! We’re not fixtures, Quick now, quick! Take our pictures. “The album’s theme could suggest this is a song aimed at the paparazzi, and with one incident becoming rather obvious, the death of Princess Diana. The guitar really stands out on this track. It gives it a fantastic bluesy/rock vibe that AFI have never really toyed with before. I can really see most AFI fans latching onto this one and adoring it.

“Sacrilege” is a faster paced song that took a little while to grow on me. The drums and bass really drive this track. Davey delivers a very passionate sermon of sorts. Like with “Smile” off 2000’s “The Art Of Drowning”, there is something in society that really disappoints him, and he wants to make sure that people know about it even though his bleak outlook suggests that we should all ‘let our faith die’. The pace of the song is quite consistent throughout, only slowing down slightly at the bridge and just after a very impressive guitar solo from Jade. The track picks up again to finish on a strong note.

‘Darling, I Want To Destroy You’ is another slow starting number that builds into the chorus. The guitar slightly resembles parts of ‘Summer Shudder’ from the previous cd, but only for a moment. The verses wouldn’t be out of place on an MGMT record with a vibe very similar to a couple of songs off their debut record. This song is clearly written about someone close to Davey, which differs from previous AFI songs. Most of Davey's lyrics remain quite vague, leaving the listener the ability to develop their own interpretation, while this song is very specific. Compared to the other tracks, this one is quite simple, possibly a little bit similar to “Endlessly, She Said”. It’s not as strong, but it’s still rather impressive.

At first, the guitar in the introduction to “Cold Hands” felt like a ‘vamped up’ version of “Let It Be Broke”, but that’s as close as AFI get to their east bay hardcore days (if that even was the intention, which I highly doubt). This is another number with a strong guitar riff setting the tone. It has been mentioned in a few interviews that the band were very conscious about writing a guitar orientated record, and it really shows in tracks such as this one. It seems to stand our far more then in did in ‘Decemberunderground’. The guitar takes a slight step back in the first verse when Davey starts singing, but the second that an opening appears, it asserts it authority again. The second half of the first verse sees everything meshing together quite powerfully. AFI have a very impressive tendency to let their songs slowly build and build before reaching the climax, which never fails to disappoint. ‘Cold Hands’ is a perfect example of this. It’s yet another extremely impressive rock track.

“It Was Mine” is a slower and moody song with themes very simular to Nine Inch Nail’s ‘Survivalism, with Davey remarking, “Don’t speak, don’t say anything . They’ve been recording all we say for years now”. This seems to be another dig at the temporary and bizarre nature of celebrity culture. This was one of my least favourite songs on the cd to begin with, but like a few of the other tracks it really grows after listening to it a few times. It manages to build up a bit of power in the chorus, while still remaining quite sombre. The entire track is riddled with anxiety, as well as acceptance. Like Trent Reznor’s very bleak outlook for the future, Davey has managed to pen some rather disturbing views on how the public treat fame, and how fickle everything really is once the spotlight dims a little.

AFI fans often exclaim that they wished ‘Decemberunderground’ would have been ‘Sing The Sorrow part 2’. This is much closer to where they should have taken off in 2003. The tracks are powerful, emotional, passionate and most importantly guaranteed to get you excited about AFI again.

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I know most of you don't like AFI, but this is me being a fangirl and spreading the word. =3 You don't have to read it, I'm just posting it. :P This is a recent review of Crash Love, AFI's upcoming album, which will be available to the US on September 29th. This is the first review of the entire album so far (there have been reviews of a few songs, or the Begin Transmission winners talking about what they heard). Soooo excited for this album, and the tour as it will be my first AFI concert. Also, being a member of the Despair Faction (thier fanclub, the inner circle of the AFI community, if you will) I might be able to meet them before the concert. Support the band if you like them, buy the album. :D

(This review was taken from Bombshell Magazine's website. I didn't write it, and I don't own it or anything. >.>)