Cross Record

It was not too long ago when I became a fan of Cross Record, the project of Emily Cross. I met her at a Killer Moon show and that lead me to see her band play Hungry Brain on Belmont Ave. She was kind enough to give me her double ep, and I was hooked when I heard Loyal Dog. Somehow that one stops me in the middle of 87th when I go jogging with the ipod. It makes me think a lot, and not always about what the song says. It just places more weight on my random racing thoughts, lets me know that they are important too. It snowballs from there to Black Cat...that one sticks out for it's sightly faster pulse, but still makes you think "what's goin' on?"  I actually thought it was Festival when I heard it......don't make me explain Festival. Emily Cross does beautiful, pensive rock. One can say that you are gently invited into her mind, but it's more my own that I feel invited to, and it is just her music that provides the flashlight. So for me its as much about pondering the mysteries of what you think, the interior castle as well as where you physically are at the moment you're listening. So 87th and Central feels a little more like a random corner of Twin Peaks...at least to me. The common place is wondrous again. And each time I hear this I'm pondering something different . One may argue that this is what all music does right? I guess I'm pre inclined to like music from CR. I also like Emily's breathy vocals.  This road leads backwards to bands like Ruby Throat, Bone And Bell, Angel Olsen....only with less weight on the sad, and more on the wonder. I haven't even begun on the new LP Be Good. It does not disappoint. If you like shoegaze eventually you may run into Cross Record. It's a permeable bubble the Chicago shoegaze subculture is. Songs like Cups in the Sink have that sound if not deliberate. I'm not quite calling it that...hmm mostly because I have not found CR through the usual shoegaze channels, but I can see how someone would at first listen, especially Cups. If I may venture to guess, I do not think it's what Emily Cross would call it. What she does I think is separate from that identity. Fuck it. If you are a shoegazer you will like Cross Record, you will be a fan of Emily Cross. Just don't brand her with the hot iron. That's not the shoegaze way, right?  I was not expecting Em to have new work when I saw her gig at Schubas on the second to last Sunday of December. And like the last time, she just gave me the download code for this new LP. That was tremendously sweet and generous of Emily Cross, and I am grateful for her kindness. . Dirt Nap is easily a favorite because it has this slow deliberate pace of a ritual being performed before you, a deeply felt personal ritual. Alright, whenever I say "slow". I don't mean boring or why would I write about it. I forgot who Cross Record was opening for that night I saw her play. There seemed to be a good receptive crowd for her. I did not get the feeling she was being ignored at all. Emily played with a full band. Anyway I look forward to seeing her perform again at Township 24 January at 9pm. 
Zig

http://www.crossrecord.com/index.html