Crashride – Crashride (2015)

Crashride is a debut album made by French Canadians Jean-Sébastien Côté (composer, sound designer) and François Therriault (guitarist, composer), and has different musicians contributing on several tracks. The sleeve looks very interesting, it reminds me of a microscopic cluster of plant cells. The music itself is mostly instrumental. It is dreamy progressive and electronic music, with lovely ambient and soundscape moments, which I find very beautiful. Twelve tracks that are between three and six minutes long, which sound very good. Keyboards/synthesizers, guitars, bass, Chapman stick and v-drums are mostly presented. Frédérike Bédard provides vocals on some of the songs. This is a tough album to review track by track, because the instruments you hear are often merged together perfectly, making it one gamut of musicality.

Opener track Two To Three is a short, synthy intro that slowly builds up the album. Father has Tony Levin contributing on bass guitar, along with Gerry Leonard on several guitars and ebow. A wonderful track. Half-Duplex includes several different guitar arrangements, which I really like. Maniguruma starts with a piano piece and bass, and contains vocals provided by Frédérike. I love the compliant guitars and catchy drums on the track Venice, one of my favourites on the album. Ostankino carries a lovely acoustic guitar through the song. Neige has Frédérike singing in French. The music carries a heavy but lively undertone. Different 8 has a very present bass and contains a Pink Floyd like guitar solo. Art Of Choice has François on vocals and has a beautiful piano solo outro. Ohne Worte is more of a rock track, with amazing orchestral strings arranged by Jean-Philippe Goulet. Hold Me Tight is the longest track on the album, with both Frédérike and François on vocals. A ballad like song with snappy drums. Feel has an 80s feel (sorry for the pun), mostly because of the drums. However, some of the guitars sound a bit grungy, making it a cool track.

Frédérike is a good vocalist, but I wonder how the album would have sounded if it was completely instrumental. I think that I would have appreciated the album more if it was completely instrumental. I really hope that JS and François will continue making more of this kind of music in the near future, because I really like this kind of music. If you like electronic music with ambient twists, containing real guitars and bass, then this is a must have!

****+ Iris Hidding

1. Two To Three (1:32)
2. Father (4:42)
3. Half-Duplex (4:10)
4. Maniguruma (4:07)
5. Venice (4:15)
6. Ostankino (4:38)
7. Neige (3:50)
8. Different 8 (3:56)
9. Art Of Choice (4:52)
10. Ohne Worte (5:36)
11. Hold Me Tight (5:47)
12. Feel (5:05)

http://www.crashride.ca/

http://www.notemusik.com/

You can also read my review on Progarchy:

https://progarchy.com/2016/08/10/crashride-crashride-2015-grendel-headquarters/

You can listen to the track Half-Duplex here:

You can listen to the track Different 8 here:

You can listen to the track Maniguruma here:

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