Geographically in the world as it has been mapped, Crime of Passing are from Ohio. In the empire of aesthetic this s/t album sits near the capital, wherever that happens to metaphorically lie… probably not far from John Carpenter’s prison island version of Manhattan.
Right out the gate there is apparent enough texture and melody to be a strong contender for the year-end lists.
“Tender Fixation” is the lead single and a great, hounding track. But “Vision Talk” is the easiest revolver for me. If you gave me a hundred years I couldn’t make a single track with this much clarity that is simultaneously as dense and textured.
The tome includes plenty of chrome plated and finely calibrated tracks. Post-punk often loses its edge and some of it’s precision in the prolonged mire of continuing to act despite an acknowledged futility for doing so. But Crime of Passing takes those tones/aesthetic and shocks them back to life, keeping the complexity of the characteristics and sense of impending doom but also maintaining a bit of fire lit underneath it.
Both phasing and finely focused, it regularly, impossibly, rides the line between both decimated and decipherable.
Plainly & Painfully 
Conflicted on this track. I’m listening a second time through the Hype Machine. I think the instrumentals are very strong but I find the vocals kinda lacking. I don’t know. Maybe this one will grow on me. I thank you for sharing it. Sounds a bit like a really strong new band demo to me. I’ve never heard of them, so I don’t know if it’s just the impression I get.
Thanks–It took a couple of spins to really hit, the same with the lead single. But very fond of its nest of tones, its angles and variations. Also–I am 200+ days into this and I think this is the first and possibly last human comment. ty
Hey, thanks for the track review, finally something what appears to be a genuine opinion as opposed to the same C&P promo text so many other online magazines published for the album release.
I discovered Crime of Passing thanks to the Bandcamp daily section shortly after the release of the debut. Something about the album cover grabbed my attention, so I listened in. Vision Talk instantly resonated with me and I still love the shit out of this track on a daily basis. Sitting at work, in the office or at home, cruising around on my bike, commuting on the train – this song is always with me.
Unfortunately even weeks later I still can’t figure out more than maybe half of the lyrics, and most of what I think I understand is probably still ways off.
Whenever I think I finally got something right, it sounds like something completely different the next time I listen to it. The guesswork kinda makes it fun while driving me nuts at the same time.
After a while I went deeper into the album in its entirety and grew fond of each and every song. Even more so after the vinyl finally arrived and I gave it a few spins back to back, over and over. Great variation among the tracks, each setting a different mood, but all of them fitting together so very well.
It rarely happens for me to really appreciate an album as a whole. A few examples would be Nine Inch Nails’ Pretty Hate Machine, Pearl Jam’s TEN, Tori Amos’ Little Earthquakes, Circa Survive’s Juturna, From Indian Lakes’ Man with Wooden Legs or their follow-up Able Bodies.
But more often than not, I only enjoy a few select songs of an album, sometimes even just a single one.
For me, Crime of Passing is the strongest debut album of any band in a very long time, and I hope there’s gonna be more great stuff to come.
Oh yea, and if anybody would be willing to help me out with the lyrics to Vision Talk… 😉
Thank you for the thoughtful feedback, really cool to hear of the influence and living with the album — It is a very exciting stuff that I need to spend more time with as well beyond a few singles.
Definitely on the year-end contenders list and something to revisit when there’s a few minutes to do so, posting daily for the first year (260 in) so kind of in a gauntlet of content at the moment.
I am also not certain of much of the lyrics in parts and don’t see them on the bandcamp/sorry to hear they’re not in the liner notes/vinyl but one I am also considering adding to the limited collection.