Review by Lewis Abbott
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Crash Adams consist of Rafaele Massarelli and Vince Sasso, childhood friends from Toronto, Canada. Enjoying easy access to an uncle’s recording studio, the boys whip up nostalgic Eighties-inspired pop head-nodders with big synths, big snares and big hooks. Their single ‘Astronaughts’ is just that.
The song opens with a rising synth and atmospheric lunar-mufflings, in which big reverberated kits batter away at the guitar line. Reminiscent of M83 or a less irritating 1975 record (personal preferences may vary…), ‘Astronaughts’ places the vocals lower in the mix, riddling them with retro FX. The chorus breaks with the line “Are we running out of time?”, pulling you into a zombie-ish singalong-state. Following the chorus is an almost White Lies-style breakdown, with pulsing synth bass that you could almost sing ‘Farewell To The Fairground’ over. Like most electro-pop songs, this track uses dynamics to bring in sections, as opposed to structural or melodic changes. This makes it highly sync-able – I can practically hear it already on Love Island, post a heavy breakup. This is perhaps why ‘Astronaughts’ has already landed on Spotify playlists such as New Music Friday Canada and Indie All-Stars. As the song reaches its final tens-of-seconds, vocals battle amid lead guitar lines and the crashing rhythms that have battered their way through the past three minutes.
For a first release, ‘Astronaughts’ is a real running-start: sleek, polished, commercial electro-pop for all the family. Keep your ears to the ground for Crash Adams’ upcoming releases, and follow their social media for more pictures of aliens, cut velvet sofas and matching suits. As they put it, they’ll be “crashing into your living room” with more pop-prowess very soon.
Words by Lewis Abbott @LewisAbbott_
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