In no less than 10 minutes of listening to “Black Phantom Crusades,” I was fully convinced that I was listening to one of the most intriguing pieces of music that I have ever heard. RED ANIMAL WAR’s previous full-length, didn’t really do much for me, so I wasn’t really expecting to much from this one, but great-googily-moogily, this band has grown by leaps and bounds. Planted somewhere in the indierock meets emocore soundscape, “Black Phantom Crusades” seems so well conceived, that it deserves to sit high and mighty above all other standards. Intensely passionate, poetic lyrics leave the thought-bending charge, and a systematically gripping urgency overflows from the music, mainly from furious percussion, and vocals that burden each word with great weight. The last time a band hit me like this, in the similar manner was HOT WATER MUSIC, and I think both bands are strong compliments. “When I Get The Feelin’ (Back In My Hands)” speaks in afterthoughts from the September 11th tragedy, and the effects are completely chilling. RED ANIMAL WAR don’t stop there though, as “And So It Beings With Bombs,” scatters the nerves with vivid mental imagery of realizing the fact that when we CNN and see War actually happening, our detachment precludes us from noticing that ‘holy crap! those are bombs!” The final track, “Right Now, Today, I Don’t Believe In Hell,” put me at razor’s edge, marvelling over the beauty and realness of a song facing death straight in the eye. No doubt, “Black Phantom Crusades,” is not a disc that hides words behind a catchy surface. In terms of sound quality, I’m beyond thrilled with the level of hi-fidelity shown here. Ed Rose (GET UP KIDS) produced this release, and everything sounds so clear and powerful. The drumming on here is phenomenal and definitely helps drive certain songs from becoming merely solid, to truly stand-out. RED ANIMAL WAR also go with the “non-traditional” in using an xylophone on a few tunes, which sounds much, much better than a band using an organ recklessly, and the third tune, “Straight Lines for Construction Workers,” contains an odd saxophone break, which I totally did not see coming. Although Deep Elm Records has pretty much always been a very consistent label, this is one of those rare gems that just sits at the peak of a label’s history, and I think the last band on their roster to reach this kind of ingenuity was PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS. Don’t miss out on this 45 minute battle of intense darkness.

Deep Elm

www.deepelm.com