{"id":114,"date":"2004-11-14T18:59:02","date_gmt":"2004-11-14T23:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/ht003\/"},"modified":"2004-11-14T18:59:02","modified_gmt":"2004-11-14T23:59:02","slug":"ht003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/ht003\/","title":{"rendered":"A Cricket in Times Square: A Cricket in Times Square"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A<\/a><\/strong>

A Cricket in Times Square - s\/t <\/p><\/div>\n

    \n
  1. [download#8#nohits] [download#8#image]<\/li>\n
  2. 5\u00bd-minute hallway(6:11)<\/li>\n
  3. mourning son (5:00)<\/li>\n
  4. everything known about medicines (3:42)<\/li>\n
  5. blood from heaven (4:34)<\/li>\n
  6. outliving your shadow (12:37)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Release Date: November 2, 2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

    All compositions \u00a92004 A Cricket in Times Square.<\/p>\n

    Recorded February\u2014July 2003 at WMUC Studios<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Recorded and mixed by Sam Chintha, Matt Welch, and ACITS.<\/p>\n

    Mastered by Mark Guenther at Seattle Disc Mastering<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Artwork by John Wood.
    \nPhotography by Michael Tyler.<\/p>\n

    Despite deriving its name from a classic children’s book, a quick listen should convince you that A Cricket In Times Square is in no way another twee band (and, you’ll note, the acronym ACITS is much tougher sounding). Like the best groups of the shoegaze era, ACITS swathes its pop songs in a substantial, but not obliterating, layer of distortion. With ethereal vocals encircled by caustic, competing guitars, the Seattle quartet’s songs guardedly confront post-adolescent ennui and frustration thru both sullen lyrics and the episodic tension present in the music.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Although the intricately layered sound is thanks to the band’s lengthy recording and post-production efforts, and founders Michael Tyler and John Wood are more than just studio obsessives. Their unique sound is a rather specialized accomplishment (one Kevin Shields<\/span> fans would surely appreciate), but they may have crafted the best album for attempting to puzzle out lyrics since Murmur<\/em>.The best example may be the first song, “Careless,” although you may well find yourself hitting repeat even if you don’t feel the need to decipher every word. If you’re looking for “the single,” look no further\u2014this is the most driving, passionate song about apathy you’ll ever hear. Track 2, “5\u00bd-Minute Hallway,” and track 5, “Blood From Heaven,” capture everything that made those early Ride releases so excellent- a combination of atmospherics, dynamism and solid songwriting that is increasingly hard to come by. Fans of stateside distortion enthusiasts should find a lot to like as well, as the Galaxie 500 dreaminess of track 6, “Outliving Your Shadow,” builds into Sonic Youth-style guitar heroics, leaving no doubt that ACITS is not just a couple of hacks with a lot of pedals\u2014although they do have a lot of pedals.<\/span><\/p>\n

    As Interpol, British Sea Power, BRMC and Saddam Hussein have shown us, the first Bush administration is culturally relevant again. ACITS, mercifully, manages to evoke the best bands of that era without resorting to slavish copycatting.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Reviews<\/h2>\n

    Rolling
    \nStone <\/strong> {David Fricke, Jan 2005}<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    “This twin-guitars band takes its inspiration from the echo-impressionism
    \nof Ride, the Church, and Sonic Youth. The blurred grandeur of this debut
    \nis particularly impressive…”<\/p>\n

    <\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    PennyBlackMusic<\/a><\/strong> {Jonjo McNeill, Dec 2004}<\/span><\/p>\n

    “It sounds absolutely
    \nincredible in a way nothing else has ever sounded absolutely incredible.”<\/span><\/p>\n

    MAGNET<\/strong>
    \n{Matthew Fritch, Jan\/Feb 2005}<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    This Seattle band\u2014named after a children’s book(if you can get over
    \nDeath Cab for Cutie, you can surely give Cricket a break)\u2014leaves
    \nno guitar-effects pedal untouched on its debut. Coupled with smothered-in-the-fog
    \nvocals, Cricket could easily fall in with the shoegaze ranks; the dizzy-with-distortion
    \nquartet is substantially weirder, however, recalling a more pastoral Spacemen
    \n3 or an even sloppier Galaxie 500.<\/p>\n

    PitchforkMedia<\/a><\/strong>
    \n{Chris Dahlen, Dec 12, 2004}<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    “Other effects-heavy guitar bands may be more psychedelic, outro or spastic, but by taking a straighter approach to their wall of sound they play to their strength: the gigantic melodies. The band’s pedal fetish doesn’t get in the way of songwriting, and each wash of noise yields a
    \nmemorable tune.”<\/p>\n

    StylusMagazine<\/strong><\/span><\/a>
    \n{Kyle McConaghy, Dec. 2004}<\/span><\/p>\n

    “Perhaps just as vital as Tyler\u2019s melodies and the unique guitar production, ACiTS reminds us of the value of warm, analog recordings and reaffirm what commonly held true in the seventies\u2014you can create a great album with less than 8 songs and 45 minutes of play time. The
    \nalbum\u2019s directness and the dazzling musical content combine for an impressive debut release.”<\/p>\n

    <\/span>Splendid<\/a><\/strong>
    \n{Amir Karim Nezar, Feb. 8, 2005}<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    “…this debut is a coherent and often magnificent display of craftsmanship
    \nand virtuosic skill.”<\/p>\n

    Exclaim<\/a><\/strong>
    \n{Cam Lindsay, Feb. 4, 2005}<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    “Their amalgamation
    \nof fuzzbox garage rock, muddled shoegazing and drugged-out hypnotic psych
    \nis as blatant as my description, but they certainly know what they\u2019re
    \ndoing because they\u2019ve made it work splendidly.”<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [download#8#nohits] [download#8#image] 5\u00bd-minute hallway(6:11) mourning son (5:00) everything known about medicines (3:42) blood from heaven (4:34) outliving your shadow (12:37) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"secondary.php","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[56,47,64,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-cricket-in-times-square","category-artists","category-ht003","category-releases"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","acf":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":486,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/a-cricket-in-times-square-st\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":0},"title":"A Cricket in Times Square – s\/t","author":"admin","date":"November 3, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"A Cricket in Times Square A Cricket in Times Square 2004 Cd, Mp3 Download","rel":"","context":"In "A Cricket in Times Square"","block_context":{"text":"A Cricket in Times Square","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/a-cricket-in-times-square\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Cricket in Times Square - s\/t ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/09\/ht003-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":752,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/rs-review-ht003\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":1},"title":"Review – A Cricket in Times Square","author":"admin","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: David Fricke Source: Rolling Stone Jan 2005 \"This twin-guitars band takes its inspiration from the echo-impressionism of Ride, the Church, and Sonic Youth. The blurred grandeur of this debut is particularly impressive...\"","rel":"","context":"In "A Cricket in Times Square"","block_context":{"text":"A Cricket in Times Square","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/a-cricket-in-times-square\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":754,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/magnet-review-ht003\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":2},"title":"Review – A Cricket in Times Squate","author":"admin","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Matthew Fritch Source: MAGNET Jan\/Feb 2005 This Seattle band\u2014named after a children's book (if you can get over Death Cab for Cutie, you can surely give Cricket a break)\u2014leaves no guitar-effects pedal untouched on its debut. Coupled with smothered-in-the-fog vocals, Cricket could easily fall in with the shoegaze ranks;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Cricket in Times Square"","block_context":{"text":"A Cricket in Times Square","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/a-cricket-in-times-square\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":761,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/exclaim-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":3},"title":"Review – A Cricket in Times Square","author":"admin","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Cam Lindsay Source: Exclaim.ca link to this article\u00a0 A Cricket In Times Square obviously aren\u2019t worried about wearing their influences on their sleeves and nicking ideas from trendy genres. Their amalgamation of fuzzbox garage rock, muddled shoegazing and drugged-out hypnotic psych is as blatant as my description, but they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Cricket in Times Square"","block_context":{"text":"A Cricket in Times Square","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/a-cricket-in-times-square\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":756,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/pitchfork-review-ht003\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":4},"title":"Review – A Cricket In Times Square","author":"admin","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author:\u00a0Chris Dahlen Source: Pitchfork Media\u00a0 link to this article\u00a0Rating:\u00a07.6 The best way to act like a caveman is to live deep inside a cave, which is where A Cricket in Times Square have landed: their garage-rock guitars are run through shoegazer pedals and effects and magnified until they sound not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Cricket in Times Square"","block_context":{"text":"A Cricket in Times Square","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/a-cricket-in-times-square\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":763,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/splendid-review-ht003\/","url_meta":{"origin":114,"position":5},"title":"Review – A Cricket in Times Square","author":"admin","date":"March 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Amir Karim Nezar Source: Splendid Magazine Link to this article It's not unusual for a band to be indebted to groundbreaking acts like Galaxie 500, Sonic Youth, and Slowdive -- but the band that escapes the shadow of such towering influences is a rare treat indeed. A Cricket in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A Cricket in Times Square"","block_context":{"text":"A Cricket in Times Square","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/a-cricket-in-times-square\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}