A lot of indie bands like to stick to a minimalist sound, which is not the case for Crystal Skulls. They have the standard guitar/vocalist (Christian Wargo), guitar (Ryan Phillips), bass (Yuuki Matthews), and drums (Casey Foubert) set-up; but that is the only conventional part of Outgoing Behavior.
The Seattle four-piece’s new album is the follow-up to their debut, which was released only about a year ago. Outgoing Behavior is Crystal Skulls’ latest release on the up-and-coming Seattle label Suicide Squeeze. You may recognize the Suicide Squeeze logo found on the back of Minus The Bear’s full lengths as well. It seems the peeps at Suicide Squeeze have really stumbled upon something.
Outgoing Behavior is full of melodies that will have you humming for days. Wargo’s soothing, dreamy vocals are layered perfectly over melodic, encompassing instrumentation. Crystal Skulls have a sort of lounge-like vibe to them, but not in a cheesy tuxedo wearing way. Every track has something special to it, whether it be a catchy guitar riff, an accompanying organ, whistles, handclaps, or a Midwest-sounding slide guitar.
After reading what some other reviewers thought of Outgoing Behavior, I have to say I really disagree. As I don’t think this will be in many people's “Top 10” of the year, the tunes are definitely worthy of being listened to. If you are in the mood to relax, put a smile on, and be mellowed out, then Outgoing Behavior is an album you’ll really enjoy.
Wargo’s vocals don’t really change pitch, which adds to the drowsiness of this album, but his crooning and slurring definitely make up for it. Even to upbeat jams such as “Baby Boy” and “Hey, It’s Easy,” his lounge-like swagger and half-hearted intensity doesn’t shift - which I love!
So maybe Crystal Skulls aren’t breaking down any musical barriers or revolutionizing indie music - they sure as hell are making some tight, well produced, great tunes to feel good about, though. I would love to see this quartet live to see how they pull off some of the smoothest songs I’ve heard this year so far.
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