36 Crazyfists
A Snow Capped Romance
Roadrunner
If there’s one thing for sure about this band, it’s that 36 Crazyfists sure do have one weird-ass name – a name so bizarre, in fact, that you might be embarrassed to tell you friends how much you dig them. But give these guys a chance and you’ll be pleasantly surprised, because their new album isn’t your run-of-the-mill Roadrunner release and 36CF has once again proven that they’re more than your average Deftones-inspired nu-metal outfit.
At first listen, A Snow Capped Romance clearly announces itself as a more mature affair than the band’s debut, 2002’s Bitterness The Star. The production is notably glossier, the songs tighter and more focused and the melodic singing is much improved. Brock Lindow’s unique “warbling” vocals have also been reigned in a bit this time around. Lindow’s strange vocal characteristic (the closest comparison I can think of would be to the more strained moments of Glassjaw front man Darryl Palumbo’s falsetto gasps) remains the single most unique component differentiating this band from their peers, but it is never overused here or allowed to distract the listener from the songs themselves. The timing, as before, is dead-on.
The resulting album is a logical progression from its predecessor and is superior in many ways, although perhaps lacking slightly in the degree of emotional depth. Or, maybe it’s just a more upbeat record. In any case, it works well. Tracks like “At the End of August,” “Cure Eclipse” and especially “Destroy the Map” clearly demonstrate what these Alaskan natives are really capable of and dare to hint at where their sound might be headed.
36 Crazyfists: [www.36crazyfists.com/](http://www.36crazyfists.com/)
