Crush

Crush

by Abe Vigoda

Overview

Somewhere between the release of its first album, Skeleton, and the sophomore album Crush, Abe Vigoda seems to have traded in all of its afro-pop and world music records for a collection of disco singles and Cure albums. More specifically, the quartet has left behind the tribal/tropical/world music guitar and drums and added gummy-sounding synths and upbeat tempos in their place. Much of the album sounds like an update on Skeleton (minus the world influences), with careening guitars and drums splattering all corners of the mix, reverb coating everything with a wet haze, and Michael Vidal's voice becoming much more of a focal point. Songs like the rampaging trio of tracks at the heart of the album -- the title track, "November," and "Pure Violence" -- sound like Skeleton 2.0 with a tighter sound and bigger hooks. Much of the album strips away any semblance of the debut and goes in a much more sonically restrained, emotionally melodramatic direction. Some of these tracks aim for the bedroom, as in "pull your covers over your head and mope." "Repeating Angel" sounds for all the world like a lost Cure b-side circa Disintegration, as it has the same haunted vocal, rippling guitars, fat synths, and trapped-in-a-dungeon atmosphere. "We Have to Mask" and "Beverly Slope" both follow this same basic template, too. Other songs head for the dance floor, like the pulsing, jittery "Sequins," which opens the record in a clutter of drums, very fat synths, and a good time vibe. In fact, the first three songs on the record all sound built for indie dance night at the local college hangout, especially the built on a 4/4 house drum machine pattern "Throwing Shade." The end result could have sounded like the work of a very schizophrenic band, but varying stylistic approaches complement each other and the album hangs together as a whole. This owes a lot to the sustained energy the band brings to the tracks, but it's also a result of the excellent songs that have both instant hooks and deeper resonance. So many bands grow boring as they grow up; Abe Vigoda has grown artistically and shifted its sound without losing the core of what made the group interesting to begin with. Crush is a fully realized progression, and one of the better indie rock albums you'll hear in 2010.

Product Details

Release Date: 09/28/2010
Label: Ppm
UPC: 0656605693729
catalogNumber: 56937
Rank: 200398

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Crush 4.5 out of 5 based on 0 ratings. 2 reviews.
eliasmanoffat More than 1 year ago
I heard this at a friend's house and liked it a lot. Just waned to give them some stars for it.
Darin14 More than 1 year ago
The CD is excellent. Barnes and Noble is not. Do not order this CD if you want prompt shipment. Barnes and Noble did not ship this CD for 6 days despite promising shipment within 24 hours. Less than 24 hours after ordering, I received an e-mail claiming that my order was scheduled to ship. But, two days after ordering, I received another e-mail citing "unexpected delay" but no promise about an exact ship date. Customer service ignored my request to cancel the order so that I could order it from another online retailer. After a second letter to customer service complaining about the delay in shipment, the order was shipped. But customer service would not respond to any of my queries. My guess is that most CDs with smaller sales figures, like Abe Vigoda, are not actually in stock. If Barnes & Noble treats you like they did me, you will have a long delay in shipment & customer service will refuse to process your order cancellation.