Here’s a question to stump your friends at musical trivia: Name a Finish rock band… any Finish rock band… after all, even one name will clinch the win. Stumped? Then try The Crash, a Scandinavian quartet that’s been making music for the past ten years. While their geographic environs might make their chances for broad success appear somewhat limited, the overall accessibility of their sound indicates they’re ready for the world stage. Catchy, cushy melodies and a penchant for ‘70s-style soul (think the Jacksons, Average White Band, Culture Club or Simply Red) purvey a flashback of sorts, to a time before the bane of dance and disco music caused rock fans to shudder with despair.
In fact, Pony Ride is a full speed gallop in reverse, an unapologetic nod towards perky rhythms, gushing sentiment and giddy attitudes. Singer Teemu Brunila has the same aptitude for the androgynous that Michael Jackson and Boy George tapped as a signature style, with Mick Hucknall’s smooth croon tossed in for good measure. There’s some unintended gender confusion on effusive album opener “Pony Ride”; when Brunila coos, “Do you see a girl like you with a guy like me, shagging by the fire on our honeymoon?,” his high-pitched vocals have him sounding like he’s singing the female role. In fact, The Crash can be kinky - the soaring strings and stately piano ballad “Lauren” seems to be about a stalker, a suspicion borne out by a percolating tune that is, in fact, dubbed “Stalker.” Its follow-up, “Filthy Flower” (“You’re a filthy flower/I could be your lover/but I want to be your man”), show they’re not shy about sharing their prurient desires.
Romantic notions aren’t the only things that drive them however. “I hope we’ll make it to the radio/I hope we’ll make it to the stadiums,” they allow on soulful closer “Backstage.” So ultimately, the premise remains the same: does a Finish group have any chance to hit the big time? Given their effusive, accessible sound, it’s safe to say The Crash can.
--Lee Zimmerman [August 27, 2008]
