Crash Love

Performer: AFI
Engineer: Tom McFall; Seth Waldmann; Joe McGrath; Andrew Scheps; Todd Parker; Jake Davies
Producer: AFI; Jacknife Lee; Joe McGrath
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Davey Havok (vocals); Jade Puget (guitar); Adam Carson (drums); Dan Under, Luke Wood , Kennard Ramsey, Beno�t Grey, Kenna Ramsey, Luke Wood, Nick 13, Julie Delgado (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Rich Costey. Goth-punk firebrands AFI follow up their smash 2006 effort, DECEMBERUNDERGROUND, with the propulsive blast of alterna-glam that is 2009's CRASH LOVE. Sticky with epic swaths of melodic rock and just enough swaggering goth-itude to please the emo-tweens, CRASH LOVE is less mannered than its predecessor and reveals a band exploding with a creative power pop and metal spark. Though lead singer Davey Havok's glitter-goth persona is well intact, it seems tempered here with a bit more punkish muscle and '80s pop croon. These songs have madly obsessive hooks along with a sparkling production that never sacrifices the hard rock energy at the core of each song. In that sense, such tracks as "Too Shy to Scream," with its tribal drumbeat homage to Adam Ant's "Goody Two Shoes," and the swooning romantic anthem "Veronica Sawyer Smokes" come as double ice cream scoops of sugary rock bliss. Think equal parts solo Morrissey and the Raspberries. Similarly moving is the pyrrhic mid-album rock ballad "Okay, I Feel Better Now," with Havok's cries of "I died for the last lie/And the heartbreak for the first time/I could not take 'til I made you cry." However, AFI are anything but saccharine, and tracks like the epic fist-pumping leadoff single, "Medicate," with its slabs of distorted Jimmy Page-esque lead guitar lines, and the equally blood pressure-raising "I Am Trying Very Hard to Be Here" are both kick-butt rockers and dancefloor-ready rave-ups. Ultimately, AFI have lightened up the band's darkly sexy vibe on CRASH LOVE and delivered a yearning, perfect pop/rock crush of an album. Goth-punk firebrands AFI follow up their smash 2006 effort, Decemberunderground, with the propulsive blast of alterna-glam that is 2009's Crash Love. Sticky with epic swaths of melodic rock and just enough swaggering goth-itude to please the emo-tweens, Crash Love is less mannered than its predecessor and reveals a band exploding with a creative power pop and metal spark. Though lead singer Davey Havok's glitter-goth persona is well intact, it seems tempered here with a bit more punkish muscle and '80s pop croon. These songs have madly obsessive hooks along with a sparkling production that never sacrifices the hard rock energy at the core of each song. In that sense, such tracks as "Too Shy to Scream," with its tribal drumbeat homage to Adam Ant's "Goody Two Shoes," and the swooning romantic anthem "Veronica Sawyer Smokes" come as double ice cream scoops of sugary rock bliss. Think equal parts solo Morrissey and the Raspberries and you are pretty close. Similarly moving is the pyrrhic mid-album rock ballad "Okay, I Feel Better Now," with Havok's cries of "I died for the last lie/And the heartbreak for the first time/I could not take 'til I made you cry." However, AFI are anything but saccharine, and tracks like the epic fist-pumping leadoff single, "Medicate," with its slabs of distorted Jimmy Page-esque lead guitar lines, and the equally blood pressure-raising "I Am Trying Very Hard to Be Here" are both kick-butt rockers and dancefloor-ready rave-ups. Ultimately, AFI have lightened up the band's darkly sexy vibe on Crash Love and delivered a yearning, perfect pop/rock crush of an album. ~ Matt Collar

Rolling Stone (p.78) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "This follow-up is more streamlined -- but `streamlined' here means spidery guitars and wailed choruses..." Alternative Press (p.116) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "[They are] a unit who are well aware that sounding big is all about having a vision in the songwriting phase." Billboard (p.56) - "The track 'End Transmission' is dressed up in '80s charm, bolstered by a punchy bassline and pounding keys..."

Hardcore revivalists-turned-goth-punks AFI ascended to a new level of stardom when they decided to slap on some eyeliner and embrace their inner Robert Smiths. After several independent releases, the Southern California-based outfit released their major-label debut, SING THE SORROW, in 2003 to much acclaim. That album's darker new-wave tendencies were taken one step further on 2006's DECEMBERUNDERGROUND. AFI's gloomier aesthetic was only given further validation by their legions of fans who dubbed themselves the Despair Faction.

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