You could be forgiven that you’ve stumbled into a parallel 80’s rock band universe as Break Through The Sky first emits from your headphones or speakers. Hold with it a little longer though, and you’ll be sun-drenched with an uplifting, upbeat cascade of acoustic guitars, mystical dabbed lyrics subdued under a pulsating droning lead guitar with echoes of John Squire on Second Coming.
There’s been a genetic shift in the sound of The Crossfire Hurricanes since their inception, a more sophisticated pallet is playing out in their latest EP ‘Break Through The Sky’ pulling in more ideas and style shifts than their earlier bluesy rock outings. They haven’t lost the gritty, take-no-shit rock attitude, that’s apparent once this EP is spinning, the title track mutates from style and tempo shifts, seamlessly ending in a finale of swirling, overdubbed vocals and distorted guitars. This more mature ep may possibly be down to line-up changes finally melding within the creative process, or maybe more influences have seeped in from father flung places, whatever it is, the formula appears to be working.
Whatchya Say? is a more moody affair, relying on the vocal and storytelling abilities of lead singer and guitarist Brendan McGreevy. It’s a love song, something I’ve not heard from them before, but McGreevy still manages to lay a bigger picture on his lyrics, a clever trick that hooks the listener, all underlined by a clever mid-tempo groove.
Heat, the final track on the EP, takes another shift in tempo and style, with it’s in your face approach, there’s some clever lead employed in the solo, it almost sounds like early ZZ Top, which can’t be bad, Josh Homme has cited them as a huge influence on Queens of the Stone Age.
With so many styles creeping into these tracks, it could easily lose its way, but it holds the shit together surprisingly well, with some really clever moments, including synth sounds especially on Break Through The Sky, which has broadened their sound too. This EP shows the band in a very creative place, and really worth checking out.
Break Through The Sky officially launches on Fri 19th April across all major online retailers, in the meantime, you can get your ears on it (and buy) here:
