Crosses - Crosses

As Deftones’ lead vocalist, Chino Moreno’s vocals are instantly recognisable. ‘Crosses’ (or †††, as this side-project and its album both appear to be self-styled) therefore occasionally struggles to justify its existence as coming from a separate entity at points, sounding like a more experimental, sombre Deftones. But what sets the record apart is its synth-led melancholy and mostly drum machine handled percussion. It’s immensely enjoyable, Moreno’s soft tenor lending itself well to the less aggressive, but considerably moodier instrumentation.

But, this debut doesn’t hit the mark quite as well as it could for more reasons than occasionally straying into familiar territory. Ten of the album’s fifteen tracks are from the previous EPs, meaning that ‘Crosses’ mostly comprises of recycled material.

From the deceptively cheery ‘The Epilogue’ to the submerged beauty found on closer ‘Death Bell’, the muffled expulsions of sound are simply captivating. And despite the repetition of old material, still acts as brilliant entry point for those unfamiliar with the band. The wall-of-sound chorus approach may be all too familiar, but it can still produce some outstanding results. Buried beneath that use of unicode crosses, this is a debut full of intermittent moments of beauty that are comfortably, but possibly too recognisable.