CRUSHSTORY A+ ELECTRIC LP [2000 (Y2K)]
This is the release that kicked off the Squid Vs. Whale label back in 2001. The album was recorded in '99, released in 2000 on CD in the USA and in Japan, and then released on vinyl LP (USA only) in 2001. After two 7" vinyl singles, this debut full-length, myriad personnel changes, and a handful of tours in the U.S. (and one in Japan), Crushstory was laid to rest in May of 2002. While active, the band played shows with At The Drive-In, Creeper Lagoon, The Jealous Sound, Low, Poster Children, Samiam, Track Star, Versus, and several other noteworthy acts of the era.
Reviews:
Although this comes advertised - via reviews of their two previous singles - as a treat for fans of Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson, it doesn't come across that much like either. If Crushstory shares anything with the old, clever new wave curmudgeons, it's in the vocals, not the music. Granted, the singer (no name on my advance copy) does sound a lot like the former Declan McManus, thanks to a similar nasal tone and pronounced slurring vowels style, but the band sounds more like The Jam or The Gas and Big Star having some kind of melding party with a classic '60s pop group. The guitars come meaty and thick and fast sometimes, with whooshing, old new wave (The Cars) organ and Rhodes piano (see the rapid 'Escape from New Rock'). Or they come a-banging post-glam power-pop like The Replacements might trot out ('Let's [Action]'). Or they hit at the high-stepping XTC-does-The Kinks ' 'Sunny Afternoon' with a Herb Alpert trumpet on the best song, 'All Natural'. Or they switch to a mod-band urgency, like the ace 'White'. These guys do it all, and do it well. / Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, # 48 - June 2001
Hook-laden, organ-drenched power-pop with a sweet tooth, Crushstory delivers an electrical combination of all that is good in indie-rock: hook-y guitars, warm vocals, toe-tappin' rhythms, and a cute approach to pop in general. This record will get you going, have you singing along, and feeling every sugarcoated note. Punchy, soft, driven, and beautiful, A+ Electric is a strong delivery of strong pop songs. I'll give it an A-. / Alex Steininger, In Music We Trust #37, March-May 2001
A+ Electric is full of delectable hooks and well-placed turns of musical phrasing. With all the electric piano and some of the upbeat guitar work, this record resembles the cheerful, mid-'90s pop of Zumpano. The vocals have the decided echo of Elvis Costello in them, which works very well. Track one, "Let's [Action]," gets high marks both for possibly being a cryptic reference to the great Let's Active and for the way the vocalist evokes the provocative, yearning Costello. There are other affinities between Crushstory and said nerdy pop icon. Most of the songs on A+ Electric keep to Costello's "brevity is better" formula, and rarely wear out their welcome or try your patience. In this regard, Crushstory understands what good pop is about: if you can pack verse, chorus, verse and phenomenal bridges into a short song, it's not necessary to go over 3:30. (Maybe tracks 11 and 12, weighing in at 6:03 and 6:59, respectively, represent momentary lapses in reason. Is there any great need for an indie jam band?) Nevertheless, Crushstory's A + Electric is a solid record. Here's a group that's definitely worthy of much wider attention. / Randall J Stephens, Ink 19 (ink19.com), April 2001
