| Crash Love | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 29, 2009 | |||
| Studio | Conway, Sunset, The Steakhouse, and Henson, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, punk rock, pop rock [1] [2] [3] | |||
| Length | 43:08 | |||
| Label | DGC, Interscope | |||
| Producer |
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| AFI chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Crash Love | ||||
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Crash Love is the eighth studio album by the rock band AFI. Produced by Joe McGrath and Jacknife Lee, it was released on September 29, 2009, through Interscope Records. [5] [6]
Following the touring cycle for 2006's Decemberunderground , AFI spent two years writing and recording their next album [6] while also working on a number of side projects: bassist Hunter Burgan started Hunter Revenge and briefly reunited with his old band The Force, while singer Davey Havok and guitarist Jade Puget recorded and performed as the electronic act Blaqk Audio. [7] Havok also launched a fashion line while Puget worked on remixing and production for other musical artists. [7] [8] In November 2008, AFI announced that they had finished writing their next album and would be recording it with producer David Bottrill. [7] [8]
The following month the band's official website was redesigned and relaunched, and a contest entitled "Begin Transmission" was announced in which fans were invited to submit homemade videos to be considered for a spot to record backing vocals on the album. [9] Thousands of entries were received and personally reviewed by the band members, and the five winners recorded their parts with the band at Conway Studios in Los Angeles in February 2009. [5] [7] In January 2009 AFI split with Bottrill in favor of producers Joe McGrath (who had worked with Morrissey, Alkaline Trio, and Blink-182) [10] and Jacknife Lee. [11] However, they continued working on the same songs and did not abandon any of the material that had already been recorded. [10]
The album's title was announced as Crash Love in February 2009, and in July its release date was set as September 29. [5] [6] A viral marketing campaign was used to reveal the album's tracks, with songs announced one-by-one on the band's website as fans sent messages to a Twitter account. [12] The full track listing and album art were reported by various music publications on August 21. [13] [14] In announcing the completion of Crash Love, Havok stated that "personally, I've never been more proud of an AFI record" [6] and called it "the album by which we'll be remembered." [15] The band later noted that, compared to the success of Decemberunderground , much of the general public seemed unaware of the release of Crash Love, marking the first time an AFI album had not made at least as big an impact as their previous effort. [16] They appeared at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK in August 2009. [17] The album's first single, "Medicate", became available for purchase through iTunes on August 25, 2009, was released to radio stations September 1, [18] and is included as a playable track in the video game Guitar Hero 5 . [19] The band previewed the album on their MySpace page for two days starting September 22, a week ahead of its official release. [20]
Deluxe CD and digital download editions of Crash Love include a number of b-side and demo tracks as additional content. [21] The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200, selling 52,000 copies in the US in its first week. [22] A special edition release features the album cover art in black. [23] In November and December 2009, the band went on a North American tour with Gallows, who later dropped off and were replaced by Dave Hause of the Loved Ones and Jonny Craig of Emarosa. [24] [25] They ended the year with an appearance at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas festival. [26] From December 2009, the band hosted a web series on Buzznet that detailed the majoing of the album. [27] AFI went on another North American tour in January 2010, with main support from Ceremony, and Wolves and Thieves and Viva Hate appearing on select dates. [28] On February 4, 2010, a music video was released for "Beautiful Thieves". [29] Following this, they toured Australia as part of the Soundwave festival and then went on a short Southeast US tour with support from the Loved Ones and Scarlet Grey. [24] [30] [31] In April 2010, the band went on a UK tour with Sick of It All and the Dear & Departed, leading up to an appearance at the Groezrock festival in Belgium. [32] [33] They played a handful of Midwest shows with Scarlet Grey. [34] In August 2010, the band went on a US tour with Green Day and appeared at Lollapalooza. [35] [36]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 70/100 [37] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [38] |
| Alternative Press | 4.5/5 [39] |
| The A.V. Club | C− [40] |
| Drowned in Sound | 3/10 [41] |
| Los Angeles Times |  [42] |
| The Phoenix | [43] |
| Rolling Stone | [44] |
| Spin | [45] |
| Sputnikmusic | [46] |
Critical response to Crash Love was generally favorable, [37] with most critics praising its intricacy and musicianship as well as the band's stylistic growth. The review aggregator Metacritic scores the album at 70 out of 100, based on 12 reviews. [37] Matt Collar of Allmusic remarked that the album is "less mannered than its predecessor and reveals a band exploding with a creative power pop and metal spark" and that "Ultimately, AFI have lightened up the band's darkly sexy vibe on Crash Love and delivered a yearning, perfect pop/rock crush of an album." [38] Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press praised the tight, precise playing of Carson and Burgan, Puget's "sense of the appropriate", Havok's ability to put a face to his vocals, and the detail in the album's arrangements and atmospheres, commenting that it "reveals more treasures with repeated listens" and that "In no uncertain terms, Crash Love is an accomplishment that raises the bar for [AFI] as musicians and writers." [39] Steve Appleford of the Los Angeles Times similarly complimented the album as confident and enjoyable, noting that the band had "grown with accelerating sophistication, stepping further beyond easy pop-punk thrashings to something grander, with music to match the mopey melodrama of Havok's words." [42]
Vik Bansal of MusicOMH praised AFI's ability to keep their sound fresh and different with each album, remarking that "[Crash Love] may be AFI's eighth album but there is no sign of fatigue, waning in quality or the song remaining the same." [47] Dave de Sylvia of Sputnikmusic shared this sentiment, stating that "Crash Love smashes precedent to pieces, but, far from being a regression, it’s the best move they could have made at this stage in their career." [46] He also praised Puget's guitar work and Havok's lyrics, remarking of the latter that "while Crash Love never quite hits the lyrical highs of Sing the Sorrow , it’s earthier and more relatable on a human level." [46] Although he felt that the album occasionally sounds disjointed, with fun uptempo tracks placed next to more subtle ones, he concluded that it was "a more intricate and well-constructed album" than its platinum-selling predecessor Decemberunderground, and "an unexpectedly focused affair". [46] Barry Thomson of The Phoenix called the album "easily A.F.I.'s best since 2003's Sing the Sorrow, and the cheeky pop-punk chorus of 'Too Shy to Scream' is their first successful decree to boogie the night away." [43] Chris Fallon of AbsolutePunk rated the album an 83%, calling "Cold Hands" "painfully cheesy" and "Veronica Sawyer Smokes" "the album's most overwhelming misfire, shifting from massive hooks to a jangly indie-pop mentality", but praised each band member's performance and concluded that the album is "by no means a work of art, but it's a nice step-up from the mildly enjoyable 2006 release Decemberunderground". [48]
Negative criticism of the album centered around its polished sound and weak lyrics. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone noted that while Crash Love is more streamlined than Decemberunderground, "'streamlined' here means spidery guitars and wailed choruses". [44] He also criticized the "vague concept of a souring relationship" that Havok's lyrics are built around, and remarked that "It can sound like AFI are just writing for their upcoming fall tour: The bombastic 'It Was Mine' could go on Green Day's next disc." [44] Daniel Yates of Drowned in Sound was also highly critical, scoring the album three out of ten and complaining that the band's guitar sound had become increasingly polished over the years and thus lost its effectiveness: "drop-d's lost their weight, palm-mutes were drenched in enough [effects] to make [a] nu metaller blush, and now with the synths apparently ditched, Crash Love sees the culmination of all that disgrace in a collection of sounds that fall somewhere between P.O.D. and a fart that's been trapped in a turbo-fx pedal for ten years." [41] He also criticized Havok's lyrics as "clumsy strings of inchoate metaphors" that fail to evoke true emotion, remarking that "the band that once set Baudelaire to music are going to be keeping the Morrisseyism-shorthand-for-literacy vocal quirk, which permeates [Havok's] contribution to this album." [41]
J. Gabriel Boylan of Spin also criticized the album's polished sound and vocals, stating that "Too often, Puget's fine guitar work can't overcome traces of the band's oompah pop-punk past or lyrics both illogical ('The broken radio was playing suicide') and cliché ('I feel nothing')." [45] He also felt that the band's punk rock roots prevented them from allowing subtlety: "Crash Love never pauses to take a breath or slows the tempo or eases back on the hypercompressed everything. The whole history of gloomy pop is on display, but the band's hardcore background doesn't allow for the more subtle atmospherics of, say, Bauhaus or even the Cramps." [45] Jason Heller of The A.V. Club scored the album a C-, feeling that it was weakened by abandoning Decemberunderground's range of styles and textures in favor of straightforward guitar rock: "The limited palette this time around doesn't do the band any favors: Where the sheer scope and giddy dynamics of Decemberunderground helped cover up some of the group's weak spots–for instance, Havok's histrionic flair and bad Marc Almond impression–Crash Love traffics in more of the same utilitarian riffs and bleating anger-slash-melancholy that AFI made its name on." [40]
"I would really describe this as a rock record, a really straightforward rock record. I don't think we've ever recorded one of those before, we’ve released hardcore records and we've released very multi-layered alt-rock records but this is the most straightforward rock record I think we've ever written so for us that is another matter of progression. Certainly creating a rock record is nothing new in [relation] to the greater world of rock music but for us it's something we've never done before so it's very fresh for us."
—Davey Havok [49]
Crash Love continues AFI's trend of varying their style from one release to the next, with a sound rooted in punk rock but having absorbed and experimented with hardcore punk, gothic rock, and electropop influences on previous albums. [46] Bassist Hunter Burgan described Crash Love as "definitely more of a rock album–more immediate and definitely more of a focused, direct approach musically. Compared to Decemberunderground, where some of the songs were more subtle, these are more in-your-face." [50] Dave de Sylvia of Sputnikmusic speculated that part of the motivation behind Puget and Havok's side project Blaqk Audio was to allow them to expand on the electronic elements that had been prevalent on Decemberunderground while preserving AFI as a primarily pop-punk act. [46] Havok stated that though it was not a purposeful move, the experience with Blaqk Audio did contribute to there being few electronic elements on Crash Love:
Crash Love is a more guitar-focused, guitar-based record than Decemberunderground was. I think what that is a result of is Jade and I having toured for two months and recorded the CexCells record [with Blaqk Audio]. So when we sat down and began writing Crash Love it was refreshing to be playing rock and I think that having done Blaqk Audio, it rejuvenated our interest in rock. Blaqk Audio was already entirely purely electronic but coming from that sitting down and writing rock we just didn't have as much inspiration to insert those electronic [sounds] into the rock music that we were playing. But it wasn’t a conscious thing. [49]
Critics compared Crash Love's sound to Morrissey, [38] [47] [48] the Raspberries, [38] The Cure, [42] [44] [47] [48] The Smiths, [42] [47] U2, [46] New Order, [45] and Alkaline Trio. [48] Some compared Puget's guitar lines to Jimmy Page, [38] Johnny Marr, [39] Trent Reznor, [47] and Black Sabbath. [45] Several critics compared "Too Shy to Scream" to Adam and the Ants, specifically the song "Goody Two-Shoes". [38] [47] [48]
Of its style, Matt Collar of Allmusic said that the album is "sticky with epic swaths of melodic rock and just enough swaggering goth-itude to please the emo-tweens" and that "Havok's glitter-goth persona is well intact, it seems tempered here with a bit more punkish muscle and '80s pop croon." [38] Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press felt that the album's style falls somewhere between their punk roots and mainstream rock, fitting neither extreme: "Although the members of AFI can't go home anymore, they're exploring more sonic vistas than any random group of smelly dudes in a van plastered with hardcore stickers or Clear Channel-sanctioned modern-rock dullards kicking back in $8K-a-week coaches, combined." [39] Other reviewers noted elements of gothic rock, post-punk, 1980s pop, hardcore punk, and synthpop in the album. [42] [45] [46] [47] Vik Bansal of MusicOMH remarked that Crash Love "shows that while fusing goth, punk and pop doesn't need to be rocket science, when AFI are involved it's very definitely an artform." [47] Chris Fallon of AbsolutePunk stated that "fans have to understand AFI is no longer that angry, sarcastic punk band anymore -- every member has strengthened their craft to coincide with each individual's influence." [48]
All tracks are written by AFI [51]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Torch Song" | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Beautiful Thieves" | 3:46 |
| 3. | "End Transmission" | 3:47 |
| 4. | "Too Shy to Scream" | 2:57 |
| 5. | "Veronica Sawyer Smokes" | 2:44 |
| 6. | "Okay, I Feel Better Now" | 4:31 |
| 7. | "Medicate" | 4:20 |
| 8. | "I Am Trying Very Hard to Be Here" | 2:43 |
| 9. | "Sacrilege" | 3:27 |
| 10. | "Darling, I Want to Destroy You" | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Cold Hands" | 3:32 |
| 12. | "It Was Mine" | 3:53 |
| Total length: | 43:24 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Carcinogen Crush" (2007 single recorded during the Decemberunderground sessions) | 2:52 |
| 14. | "Ether" (recorded during the Decemberunderground sessions) | 2:36 |
| 15. | "Miss Murder" (duet featuring Kyosuke Himuro) | 3:26 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Too Late for Gods" (Crash Love sessions outtake) | 4:02 |
| 14. | "Breathing Towers to Heaven" (demo from Crash Love sessions) | 3:51 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Fainting Spells" (Decemberunderground sessions outtake) | 4:02 |
| 14. | "We've Got the Knife" (demo from Crash Love sessions) | 3:52 |
| 15. | "Where We Used to Play" (demo from Crash Love sessions) | 3:58 |
| 16. | "100 Words" ( Sing the Sorrow sessions outtake) | 5:17 |
| 17. | "Too Late for Gods" (Crash Love sessions outtake) | 4:02 |
| 18. | "Breathing Towers to Heaven" (demo from Crash Love sessions) | 3:54 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Fainting Spells" (Decemberunderground sessions outtake) | 4:00 |
| 2. | "We've Got the Knife" (demo from Crash Love sessions) | 3:50 |
| 3. | "Where We Used to Play" (demo from Crash Love sessions) | 3:57 |
| 4. | "100 Words" (Sing the Sorrow sessions outtake) | 5:13 |
| Total length: | 60:08 | |
Band
Backing vocalists
Production
| Artwork
Bonus track production"Fainting Spells"
"We've Got the Knife" and "Where We Used to Play"
"100 Words"
|
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart [55] | 16 |
| Canadian Albums Chart [56] | 17 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart [55] | 38 |
| UK Albums Chart [57] | 73 |
| US Billboard 200 [56] | 12 |
| US Billboard Alternative Albums [56] | 5 |
| US Billboard Hard Rock Albums [56] | 4 |
| US Billboard Rock Albums [56] | 5 |
AFI is an American rock band from Ukiah, California, formed in 1991. Since 1998, it consists of lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backing vocalist Adam Carson, bassist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Hunter Burgan, and guitarist, backing vocalist and keyboardist Jade Puget. Havok and Carson are the sole remaining original members. Originally a hardcore punk band, they have since delved into many genres, starting with horror punk and following through post-hardcore and emo into alternative rock and gothic rock.
The Art of Drowning is the fifth studio album by American rock band AFI. It was released on September 19, 2000, through Nitro Records.
David Paden Marchand, known professionally as Davey Havok, is an American singer and musician who is the lead vocalist of the rock band AFI, the synth-pop band Blaqk Audio, the hardcore punk band XTRMST, and the new wave band Dreamcar. Among various other ventures, he performed lead vocals for Son of Sam's debut album and for fictional band My Purple Agony in the animated series Harvey Girls Forever!.
"Girl's Not Grey" is a song by American rock band AFI. It was released as the debut single from their sixth studio album, Sing the Sorrow (2003), debuting on radio on February 4, 2003. It is the band's third most successful single, peaking at No. 7 on the Alternative Songs Chart and No. 14 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Chart. David Slade directed a music video, featuring elements which have been described as similar to those in Alice in Wonderland.
Jade Errol Puget is an American musician and producer, best known as the guitarist for the rock band AFI, the guitarist/writer for the straight edge hardcore band XTRMST, and the keyboardist/synthesizer operator for the electronic duo Blaqk Audio. Puget is vegetarian and straight edge.
Black Sails in the Sunset is the fourth studio album by American rock band AFI. It was released on May 18, 1999, through Nitro Records. With the addition of guitarist Jade Puget as a permanent member, it is the first AFI album to feature the current line-up of the band.
Adam Alexander Carson is the drummer of the alternative rock band AFI. He and Davey Havok are the two original members left in the lineup. Carson also filled in as drummer for the psychobilly band Tiger Army. His drumming can be found on Tiger Army's Early Years EP as well as their debut album Tiger Army. Carson was also a member of Influence 13 – a band formed by Nick 13, Jade Puget, Geoff Kresge, and two other friends.
All Hallow's E.P. is an extended play by American punk rock band AFI. It was released on October 5, 1999, through Nitro Records. It contains three original songs and a cover of the Misfits song "Halloween".
Decemberunderground is the seventh studio album by American rock band AFI, released on June 6, 2006, through Interscope Records. The album was supported by three singles, "Miss Murder", "Love Like Winter", and "The Missing Frame".
"Miss Murder" is a song by American rock band AFI. It was released on April 3, 2006, as the lead single from their seventh studio album Decemberunderground. It was initially scheduled to premiere on LIVE 105 on April 13, 2006; however, it was released early due to overwhelming fan reaction. "Miss Murder" was released to radio on April 25, 2006. It was released in the United Kingdom and Australia on April 24 and July 29, 2006. It was written by Davey Havok and produced by Jerry Finn.
Blaqk Audio is an American electronic music duo, formed by current AFI members Davey Havok and Jade Puget under Interscope Records.
CexCells is the debut studio album by the American electronic music duo Blaqk Audio. It was initially scheduled to be released on August 7, 2007, however, it was rescheduled and released a week further on August 14, 2007 through Interscope Records. It debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200, selling more than 29,000 copies within its first week. It received mixed reviews from music critics. It spawned one single: "Stiff Kittens".
Not Without a Fight is the sixth studio album by American rock band New Found Glory. It was released on March 10, 2009, through independent label Epitaph Records. Produced by Blink-182 singer-bassist Mark Hoppus and recorded at his home based-OPRA Studios, the album was seen as a return to the band's energetic roots in comparison to its predecessor; the mellow Coming Home (2006). The gap between releases marked the longest period between studio albums in the band's career thus far, while the title is taken from the lyrics in opening track, "Right Where We Left Off".
Bright Black Heaven is the second studio album by American electronica band Blaqk Audio, consisting of Davey Havok and Jade Puget of AFI, released on September 11, 2012, under Superball Music's imprint Big Death. The album title was first revealed in October 2009 in an interview with Jade on myYearbook, and the album itself had been completed as of December 2, 2011. The first single, "Faith Healer", was released on August 14.
Sing the Sorrow is the sixth studio album by American rock band AFI. Recorded at Cello Studios in Los Angeles, California between 2002 and 2003, the album was produced by Jerry Finn and Butch Vig. Sing The Sorrow was the band's final release under the Nitro Records label.
...Is a Real Boy is the second studio album by American rock band Say Anything, released on August 3, 2004.
XTRMST was an American straight edge hardcore punk band featuring Davey Havok and Jade Puget of AFI. XTRMST was Havok and Puget's second side project together, after their electronic project Blaqk Audio. They released their debut album XTRMST in 2014 on long-time friend Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records. Havok and Puget later added Chris Sorenson (Saosin) on bass, Josh James on guitar, and Val Saucedo on drums.
Material is the third studio album by American electronica band Blaqk Audio, consisting of Davey Havok and Jade Puget of AFI. it was released on April 15, 2016 under Blaqknoise/Kobalt Records. The first single from the album, "Anointed", was released on January 26 for streaming through SoundCloud and through digital retailers on February 19.
AFI is the tenth studio album by American rock band AFI. It was released on January 20, 2017, through Concord Bicycle Music. The album release includes four limited sleeve art and vinyl color variants, corresponding to each of the four members of AFI, and associated with each of the four blood groups.
Only Things We Love is the fourth studio album by American electronica band Blaqk Audio, consisting of Davey Havok and Jade Puget of AFI. The album was released on March 15, 2019. Ahead of the album, the duo released "The Viles".
