CROSS
Cross hail from Sweden and primarily consist of Hansi Cross who plays guitar, keyboards and percussion as well as being the main vocalist, Lollo Andersson on bass and Tomas Hjort on drums, although there are various other musicians who have contributed to this release. ‘Wake Up Call’ is the band’s ninth full length release.
The album commences with the nine minute ‘Human Resolution’ and the stall is set for what we can expect from the album as a whole. The track starts with a gentle acoustic intro before breaking into a riff that recurs throughout the song and a particularly heavy bassline. The track has a slightly sinister and somewhat urgent feel to it as if the band are trying to create tension within the listener. Cross’ vocals, which are multi layered, bring to mind John Wetton of King Crimson and Asia fame. A brief instrumental follows before we encounter the next track proper, ‘Falling Beyond’. This is another lengthy track at eleven minutes and has a similar complexity to the opener. Another riff recurs through the song, like a motif, but the keyboards are more prominent and it has an almost jazzy feel to it, particularly where the drumming is concerned. Next up is ‘Racing Spirits’, at four minutes, one of the shorter songs in this set and, again, the keyboards are prominent in the mix. We then come to the longest track on this release, ‘Waking Up’, which clocks in at seventeen minutes. From a brooding intro, the cut builds to a heavy crescendo with some of the heaviest music on the entire release before a lighter passage, featuring some violin, takes over. The vying of heavy and soft for dominance continues throughout the length of the song and, again, there is a pervasive sense of urgency discernible. The final track is a cover of Spektrum’s ‘Now’. Not having heard the original, I can’t comment on Cross’ interpretation but it is good effort nonetheless.
In summary, this isn’t a particularly heavy release but if you're a fan of convoluted songs with plenty of light and shade and myriad time changes you might just appreciate what ‘Wake Up Call’ has to offer.
The album commences with the nine minute ‘Human Resolution’ and the stall is set for what we can expect from the album as a whole. The track starts with a gentle acoustic intro before breaking into a riff that recurs throughout the song and a particularly heavy bassline. The track has a slightly sinister and somewhat urgent feel to it as if the band are trying to create tension within the listener. Cross’ vocals, which are multi layered, bring to mind John Wetton of King Crimson and Asia fame. A brief instrumental follows before we encounter the next track proper, ‘Falling Beyond’. This is another lengthy track at eleven minutes and has a similar complexity to the opener. Another riff recurs through the song, like a motif, but the keyboards are more prominent and it has an almost jazzy feel to it, particularly where the drumming is concerned. Next up is ‘Racing Spirits’, at four minutes, one of the shorter songs in this set and, again, the keyboards are prominent in the mix. We then come to the longest track on this release, ‘Waking Up’, which clocks in at seventeen minutes. From a brooding intro, the cut builds to a heavy crescendo with some of the heaviest music on the entire release before a lighter passage, featuring some violin, takes over. The vying of heavy and soft for dominance continues throughout the length of the song and, again, there is a pervasive sense of urgency discernible. The final track is a cover of Spektrum’s ‘Now’. Not having heard the original, I can’t comment on Cross’ interpretation but it is good effort nonetheless.
In summary, this isn’t a particularly heavy release but if you're a fan of convoluted songs with plenty of light and shade and myriad time changes you might just appreciate what ‘Wake Up Call’ has to offer.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Progress Records
Album
WAKE UP CALL
Review by Dave Uphill
RUNNING TIME:
54:12
RELEASE DATE:
3rd Feb 2012
TRACK LISTING
1) Human Resolution
2) Remembrance
3) Falling Beyond
4) Racing Spirits
5) Waking Up
6) Now
2) Remembrance
3) Falling Beyond
4) Racing Spirits
5) Waking Up
6) Now
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
Sweden
"...if you're a fan of convoluted songs with plenty of light and shade and myriad time changes you might just appreciate what ‘Wake Up Call’ has to offer."
