Cigarette Crossfire - What could have been the reason for the name? I would guess that one of the band members quit smoking and the others ruthlessly smoked in his face, or they just like to fog up others, or maybe none of the band members smoke... I don't know which of the four Helsinkians likes cigarettes. Honestly, I don't care...
I know that I like their music.
The Finns are heavily influenced by punk rock, similar to what Leatherface, Hot Water Music, or Manifesto Jukebox do. Before the band was formed in 2010, the musicians had already established themselves in other bands. Names like "Endstand", "Live Giving Waters", and "Buried at Last" should be familiar to connoisseurs. After four years and a few singles, their second album is now out. Unfortunately, this release is overshadowed by a tragic accident. Drummer Henkka died on July 10, 2014, in a skateboarding accident. This album is dedicated to him.
The music on the album is melancholic, powerful, and raw.
The ten songs were recorded in four days, making it a live production. It's beautifully raw, dynamic, and really dirty. The instruments are slightly overdriven, and some background noise wasn't clinically cleaned up.
As is typical for punk rock, the drums hit hard. Unlike many other productions these days, it's refreshing to hear an unadulterated drum kit on record. Nothing is overly edited, and there are no drum machines. The playing style is straightforward but varied. The guitars are very raw and lay like a fog over the melancholy of the songs. Muff Potter comes to mind as well. The guitars blend well in the arrangement, and there are dissonances that only enhance the mood.
The singer is a shouter, as you would expect from many skate punk bands. He slightly reminds me of Dexter Holland.
The formula of the songs is well-known. So, nothing new under the sun. Mainly, they are mid-tempo tracks with very interesting instrumental parts sprinkled throughout that greatly enhance the songs. The lyrics are fictional narratives based on personal experiences or social criticism as motives.
The tracks "Pill Pusher" and "Ready to go" resonate with me the most. "Pill Pusher" has such a great chorus, and "Ready to go" just bursts with energy. The melodies of "Gun Point" are very original, and the title "Mud" drags on just as the name suggests. But not in a negative sense; quite the opposite. In the chorus "And I'm run, run, run, run," you get the feeling that the singer is stuck in the swamp up to his thighs and can't move forward.
I find the song "Lies" a bit boring.
The cover is very tastefully designed, and it seems to follow a concept. The last album was designed similarly. Black and white with very fine and detailed drawings of surreal images.
The front shows a dreamy-looking woman with a ship flying the American flag on her head, which is being attacked by a giant octopus. On the back, there is a resigned man with giant flies, rats, and bugs crawling on his head. The inner sleeve features a diver with a heart-shaped pocket hanging from his chest.
Who is this music for?
Fans of the aforementioned influences can grab it without hesitation, I would say blindly. Fans of skate punk and hardcore can't go wrong here either. Everyone else looking for something refreshing and a bit different should definitely give the new Cigarette Crossfire a try.
Oh, and after a Florida tour in winter, the band will be touring Germany in early 2015. Mark your calendars! ;)
This article was automatically translated by AI.
