Crystal Method
Tweekend (2001)

review by: Chris Orcutt
Date: 12/6/01

This is a good shit.

The Crystal Method fuse rock with electronic music better than anyone else. These guys grew up on AC/DC and Led Zeppelin just like I did and they’ve taken that "rawwwk" sensibility and seamlessly welded it to electronic dance music to come up with something that’s entirely their own.

Tom Morello – the guitar player from Rage Against the Machine – plays on a lot of the songs, and absolutely buries "The Name of the Game" under an avalanche of guitars. The song redefines kick-ass. The samples floating through all the songs on the CD are sometimes sublime, sometimes really in-your-face but always appropriate to the song. The opener "PHD" shows how much these guys know about rhythm – the beat slams in at the perfect place. The same thing happens in "Ten Miles Back," which every DJ should put on right as a party is hitting it’s peak – it will send everyone into oblivion.

Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots (and rehab!) sings "Murder" which I can kind of live without, though I never liked STP much so that might be why. It kind of seemed like TCM was trying too hard to meld with his style and it comes off a little awkward and unfinished. But everything else is great. I was so looking forward to this record after hearing their first one,"Vegas" that I went out and bought this the first day it came out. I put it in the CD player, got sent through the roof by the first three tunes, and then played them all again, and again. And the rest was just as good.

Crystal Method
Vegas (1997)

review by: Chris Orcutt
Date: 7/13/00

A friend of mine's definition of great rock & roll is: If you were 14 and had it cranked in your bedroom, would your parents hate it? If yes, it's great rock & roll. And though "Vegas" is definitely on the electronic side of the music spectrum, it kicks ass more than enough to fit that definition. It would definitely piss your parents off.

These guys totally know their stuff. "Busy Child" hits a really infectious dance groove - if this came on in a dance club full of people who had never heard it before, I'm sure the place would go nuts. And the sampling throughout the CD is not used as a substitute for substance; it's used to enhance the songs. The band (actually, I think it's 2 djs from California) totally knows how to build a song and create a mood; "High Roller" is a great example. It's super spacey and brooding with these 2 samples floating around and around, then this killer drummer slams in (and it's definitely a real drummer, not a drum machine) with a really hard-hitting but funky beat that totally nails the mood in place. I first heard it at 2AM while blasting through Connecticut on 95, and found it (and the rest of the album) to be absolutely great driving music. These guys definitely are artists, as much as any guitar player or songwriter; they build excellent songs.

If you've never really gotten into electronica before but you really do go for kick-ass rock & roll and can appreciate a good dance beat as well, give this a shot.