Posted on: March 24, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

All Crazy – Sex Drugs & Hip Rock / 2007 Self / 14 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/allcrazyphilly /

All Crazy are trying to follow acts like Gym Class Heroes in the incorporation of emo and hip-hop. The first track on the album is “Scarface”, and it provides fans of all genres something to appreciate. Where acts have tried to combine each of the different genres in the past, it seems that All Crazy is the first act to create this combined style without having everything seem out of place. The funky style of “Jungle Juice” adds another set of influences to All Crazy’s repertoire.

The horns on the track attack the vocals at points during the track; where the production ultimately rectifies everything, the tension present at the early part of the track threatens to wreck the rest of the disc. The band slows their momentum down with “Wrong Time”, coming forth with a very ethereal, instrumental opening. The guitars, when they first enter the track, give the song an added energy that is continued through the rap flow. The flow is reminiscent of Travis from the aforementioned Gym Class Heroes, but the rest of the instrumentation on the track places the song into a realm where it could easily be taken up by both rap and rock rotation radio. The only problem that individuals can see during “Sex Drugs & Hip Rock” is the fact that All Crazy moves into the realm of rap in regards to the interludes that are present. One note to anyone that is seriously considering using interludes or skits: DON’T! They contribute nothing to the actual disc, and in many cases, actually reduce the enjoyment that individuals can draw from the album.

All Crazy comes back strong with “Realer Than The Truth”, linking together Pillar, Papa Roach, and even R&B acts like Akon and T-Pain. All told, this is All Crazy’s second single-worthy track on “Sex Drugs & Hip Rock”. All Crazy self released this album, but I could completely see a major label picking up the band and re-releasing this album in the years to come. The inclusion of strings on tracks such as “Knocked Out” give a classical grounding to the band that can only be compared to acts such as the musicians that provided the score to a show like Riverdance. For fans of acts like Crazy Town, the aforementioned Gym Class Heroes, and even older acts like Smash Mouth and Sugar Ray, All Crazy come forth strongly on this album.

Top Tracks: She Said, Knocked Out

Rating: 8.5/10

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