THE CRYSTAL METHOD - LEGION OF BOOM

Man, what’s up with all of these bands I used to listen to in the late-'90s coming back with new stuff? Is the time period from 1995-1999 already “retro”? Well, The Crystal Method is back with their third full-length album titled Legion of Boom. Now, let me tell you a tale: I used to love these guys. Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland’s first album, Vegas, is one of my all-time favorites. But when their sophomore album, Tweekend, came and went without much hype or notice from the public, I knew why. The whole “scene” of techno was dead. There were a few bands that served as a middle-ground between the techno sound and where it was progressing; hybrids, if you will-- like The Beta Band or Death In Vegas-- but a lot of bands were either left standing at the station, or failed while they held on for dear life.
But now, with Legion of Boom, things have started to turn around. Is it still technically “techno”? Well,.. yeah. But unlike Tweekend, there is a definite progression to the sound and vibe of the music. And the weirdest part about it all is that it sounds more similar to their earlier work than it does their second album. So, they’ve kind of moved forward by going backward, if that makes any sense. It seems as if they looked at what made Vegas a solid album, and tried to expand off of that original idea. And what they’ve come up with isn’t bad.
I’m not big on the opening tune, “Starting Over”-- whose title is probably just as telling as it seems-- but once you get over that first hump, the rest of it's a fun ride. “True Grit” is a playful, jumpy tune that sounds like it was accidentally left off of Vegas back in ‘97. The deep bassline of “American Way” mixes well with an ‘80s synth pop background, and features Rahzel of The Roots rapping over the musical goulash. “Broken Glass” features some great soulful hooks and beats, and is sure to be the background music on some sneaker/car/juice/vacuum commercial in the near future. “Weapons of Mass Distortion” is dark and rich-- much like our government. And finishing out the album is “Wide Open”, which is a beautiful track with San Franciscan poet Hanifah. Going into the studio, Hanifah was told that the title of the song was what the song was all about: being wide open. So Hanifah freestyled all of the lyrics on the track, thus giving a very produced and fine-tuned song a fun and free feel. What results is a nice marriage of studio and spirit. And it’s a good track to end the album on, as well.
I guess The Crystal Method is back. Where they will go from here remains to be seen, but at least they have yet another good album under their belt. Be sure to look for Legion of Boom in stores on January 13th. Until then, check out their site, and when you’re done with that, send me an email and explain to me how something from five years ago can already be nostalgic.
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