AFI - Crash Love
Posted by Hunter on Mon, 02 Nov 2009.
Davey Havok – lead vocals
Jade Puget – guitars, keyboards, programming, backing vocals
Hunter Burgan – bass, keyboards, programming, backing vocals
Adam Carson – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Californian rock outfit, AFI (A Fire Inside), formed in 1991, and since then have gone on to release 8 studio albums routed in hardcore punk from the start, but where do we stand now? The hardcore punk edge has eroded over time, and AFI have stepped more towards rock with their latest release. The sound hasn’t got softer, just a bit more, sophisticated, with the hardcore riffs still driving through, and Havok’s morose lyrics bringing the layers of music together. It’s certainly a well crafted 43 minutes or so of music with elements of The Cure and Bauhaus. Some of the long term AFI fans have struggled with the transition, with criticisms ringing aloud with “sellouts”, “selling to the 12 to 16 age group” and so on, but the truth is, as musicians you just can’t keep playing the same material. You have to grow.
Which is something this album does. In all honesty, the first few times I listened to the album, nothing, and I mean nothing, really stuck with me. Only after a few plays in the car did this album actually start to make its mark. “Torch Song” fades in slowly as the opening track builds momentum, before bursting into a hefty guitar riff, and other highlights include “Fainting Spells” with it’s savage screaming chorus and emo lyrics, and “Medicate”, more a rock anthem then a punk statement.
AFI have done well for themselves, are excellent musicians, and you know it, there’s a “but” heading in. You’ll still hear those emo influences in say “Veronica Sawyer Smokes (5th track in), you can still hear the punk elements, and the step towards rock is a brave one, but (there it is), Crash Love sits in between all of these camps. It’s not quite any of those genres. The danger is that older fans of AFI may walk away, or perhaps the new potential audience might just write them off, but that could well be a mistake because Crash Love is a catchy singalong rock affair that should be given a second chance.
