Artist: The Classic Crime
Album: The Silver Cord
Label: Tooth and Nail Records
Release Date: 07.22.08
Rating: 9.5/10
I've loved The Classic Crime for several years now, ever since the release of their debut CD, "Albatross". Coming in to listen "The Silver Cord", I had high expectations. Their acoustic EP, "Seattle Sessions" that was release in the past year revealed a more mature band than "Albatross" had brought to us, and I was prepared to hear a different band from two years ago, but what hit my ears was more than just more mature, it was beautiful.
Opening with a short track, "The End", displays TCC's lyrical genius. Principal songwriter/lead vocalist Matt MacDonald really shines in this CD, and "The End" was just the beginning, no pun intended. After the under two-minute opening, standout songs "Just A Man" and "Gravedigging" please the listener with well produced effects, crunching guitar riffs and MacDonald's mature and raw vocals. Halfway through the comparably long album (this CD clocks in with a hefty 15 songs, just under an hour long), we come to the first single from this CD, "Abracadavers". I love this song. Its intense guitars, MacDonald's almost-screaming vocals and an all-around catchy lyrics and beat really drive home the emotion of this song. The rest of the album is similarly compelling, offering standout tracks "Medisin", "Sing", and the album's only instumental, "The Ascent".
Overall, this is an album I would recommend to every listener of the general rock genre. Lyrically this band is as clean as could be, so cautious parents you need not worry with this band. What I find most intriguing about this band their newest CD is their belief about the whole "Christian Band" label pinned on them. The record label they are signed to, Tooth and Nail Records, isn't an exclusively Christian label, but a majority of their bands are marketed for the Christian music market, but TCC wants to throw off that label and become their own. This is a post off TCC's forum posted by the lead vocalist Matt MacDonald:
I get this question a lot:
OK, i dont know if or when you might respond, but to stat off i will tell you that i am a big fan of you guys and i was just wondering one thing, i know people consider you a Christian band and i do too, but do you consider yourselves that? And looking at the lyrics and interpretations of We All Look Elsewhere and i see the Christian interpretation of it and i, myself see it that way but people from varius sources see it as a song about getting over drugs as well with the "straight line" portion of the song referring to cocaine. Get back to me if you can.
God Bless,
A South Dakotant
I'd like to answer this on our news forum, because I think a lot of people have asked if we consider ourselves a "christian" band or not. The answer is no, and there are numerous reasons why. Hopefully by sharing those with you I can shed some light on the topic.
Reason #1: We feel the term "christian" has been abused in years passed, especially by Americans, and thus has been associated with other words like; judgemental, narrow-minded, pious, self-righteous, exclusive, etc. Jesus was none of those things, and we're sure He would not want us associating who we are with those types of words.
Reason #2: We believe faith is personal, and can be only held by an individual person. To entitle a group "christian" would be to assume that the group has a collective soul, or at least individual souls tied to a solid collective belief. Not everyone in our band is decidedly set in their faith, and we respect that.
Reason #3: We do not prefer to endorse an industry that currently thrives on exclusivity.
Reason #4: We would like our music to reach the mainstream. Bob Dylan once said, "People want to label you so they can limit your accessability." We do not want our accessability limited by labeling ourselves something that has negative connotations in todays day and age.
To the Christians who listen to us: Thank you, we welcome your ears and your hearts. Its understandable you may have expectations for us based on the label we are signed to, but our music is not exclusively for you, and we cannot accept a label that will in most ways limit us to you alone. We also cannot accept a label that in its purest form we cannot live up to. "Christian" literally means, "little Christ." We are far from that in many ways, and we cannot live up to those heavy expectations, not to mention the added religious expectations of the "western church." All this aside, I do encourage and endorse people who wish to seek out and learn from the works, life and death of Jesus.
To everyone else who listens to us: Thank you so much for relating to our songs. The music we write is for people who struggle, people who have questions, and people that want to change their surroundings. We've all individually struggled with a lot of things, and we hope you can relate to our experience as its portrayed in our music. Thank you for looking deeper than surface level. We hope to continue our artist/listener relationship with you for a very long time.
With love always,
Matt and The Classic Crime
To be honest, I love this. I too don't like the words often pinned to the word "Christian". While I am not ashamed to say I am Christian, I am sometimes ashamed of how we as The Body of Christ act and judge people. So take this how you like, but if anything, I love and respect TCC for their honesty even more.
Zach Hall
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