††† (Crosses)
Sumerian Records
Chino Moreno’s been one hell of a busy guy of late. Not only did the Deftones frontman spend a large chunk of last year touring his primary band’s latest record, but he also found time to release the fantastic Palms collaboration with three former ISIS members. Now another quality Moreno side-project has slipped quietly into existence. Well, to be fair, ††† (Crosses) – the collaboration between Moreno and Shaun Lopez of post-hardcore band Far – have been pursuing their shadowy brand of ambient electronica for a few years now. Their latest offering combines all 10 cuts from the EPs plus five previously unreleased songs. Thus, ††† is more of an archival collection than a stand-alone record. And at 56 minutes, the album is at least 10 minutes too long. Still, ††† is an otherwise excellent outing from a band that defies its side-project status and demands a seat at the table with its bigger siblings.
WAYNE MARSHALL
