It never fails. “New Music Monday” always seems to sneak up on me when I least expect it. I’m sure there are a ton of excuses for my inability to prepare for this. I’ve discovered over the last few entries that life continually seems to get in the way of my best laid plans. No matter the excuse or reason, here we are again. And while I pride my self in being able to meet deadlines and stick to schedules, I find I’m scrambling to come up with something to write. The silver lining is that this entry forces me to stop what I am doing, planning, or even waiting for. The goal here originally was to review, but on a more esoteric level, it’s become my reason for unplugging life for a small moment and plugging in my headphones.

Considering that it’s life getting in the way, it only appropriate that this review is a byproduct of the day experienced. Son #1 goes to pre-school at a church and occasionally his studies and songs are showcased on Sundays during service. Most people recognize that I’m not drawn to the constructs of practicing my beliefs with the formal structure of a building or denomination. I’m confident in my relationship with my spirituality. But today, Son #1 was singing songs at church. In attendance, I realized during the sermon about the poignancy of recognition of life’s nuances. Son #1’s smile when he sang and saw me take pictures of him, the pastor’s message about being soulfully alert to your surroundings, Son #2 and his lust for pizza, a bike ride with Son #1, a cold refreshing beer with my wife, a blue Subaru driving by, and a tearful memory of a surprise party. All of these are the fabric of existence and the afterlife which are intricately intertwined.


On that note, I started thinking about the artists that tend to make me consider the nuances of life. The Classic Crime is one of those very bands that does just that. I stumbled on to them only five years ago in one of my ways of discovering new music. Given the ‘mental state’ I was in and the message from the lyrics, TCC and their music anchored themselves to my soul. Since that day, The Classic Crime has released one acoustic album and three studio albums; the latest Vagabonds, on April 6th, 2010. For me, this album was hugely anticipated as I’ve grown to be quite a fan of the local Seattle rock group. One could argue that TCC is a Christian rock outfit. However, I’d estimate that they merely explore how they feel and question what they believe.

Get the new Vagabonds record here at Lala.com

Vagabonds is a much more mature sounding album than I was expecting. At first listen, I was fairly disappointed at the result. I was looking for something catchy. A rock riff, an emo sound, and message that I could rally around. All of which were present but existed at a much deeper level than expected. A few more listens began to uncover the complexity of the themes on the album. It was uniquely TCC but the arrangement was more exploratory and less predictable. All of the sounds sound vaguely similar but I believe that this phenomenon happens on everyone’s record. Every artist or group has a brand of sound. Vagabonds takes the sound the band developed on last album and expands on it, creating smooth and mature rock and roll ballads with several melodic surprises. I’d surmise that there are three songs which musically and lyrically embody the spirit of the entire project.

Solar Powered Life – This was the first single off the record and interestingly enough, it is the most non-TCC song on the album. It really relies on an old school guitar riff. Still driving and anthemic like typical TCC songs, but this song is far more stripped down and pays significant homage to simplistic driven rock songs about women. But instead of the old objectification, this is metaphorically about a woman pulling her power and moods from the sun.

My Name – Simply explained, this track soars musically and lyrically to a peak over the life of the song reaching its peak moments before the end. Listening, you feel like it is climbing a sound mountain. As you close the distance between you and the peak, the music and message increase in volume and urgency. Lyrically, the song is about definition of oneself through faith. As the music fills out with more sound and complexity, you can begin to ‘feel’ that no one can define your existence but you and your Faith. Then, there's the addition of a church bell in amazingly appropriate places. If you only listen to ONE TCC song in your lifetime, listen to this one.

Everything & Nothing – This is a quintessential TCC song and it is what I remember about hearing that very first single five years ago. Driving hard melodies and lyrics about belief. What is real? I think a listener could easily find multiple meanings in this tune. It could easily be universally complex as looking for a sign from above for something more or as simple as needing to be advocated by a loved one.

At first listen, I didn’t really like the album. I had unattainable expectations. All of the anticipation led up to a let down as is true with most things. Instead, I gave it a couple of chances to earn back the entertainment performance I had hoped for it. It just took me a few listens to unearth the innate poignancy of the music. It’s about blatant honesty, maturity, and truthfulness. Clearly, the band is defiant of the formulaic drivel available in the industry. Vagabonds is a rare album in which the spirit behind the music—that of remaining true to oneself—is mirrored in the lyrics. And even more importantly, the band donated all of its pre-sales of this album to its personal relief efforts in Haiti.