by Angela Phillips
Today, Crushed!? premiere their second full length album, Despedazándose. It is being released via Orange Whip Records and blends elements of post-hardcore, math rock, and emo. If you’re a fan of those genres, this album will no doubt scratch every itch.
The album name Despedazándose translates from Spanish to “falling apart,” which is evident in the relentless grind of every track. The listening experience is a roller coaster of dynamics and at times makes you feel like you might just fly off the tracks. Vocally, it’s a sensitive blend of aggression and pain, that perfectly characterizes a collective experience that I believe we can all identify with given the frustration of the current global pandemic. Musically, it’s literally everything; Crushed!? vacillate between relentless hardcore beats and dance punk all mixed with angular melodic guitar, and groovy progressive bass lines. There are sweeping beautiful pockets of harmony between a nonstop heavy pulse that can be described no other way than pummeling. They make you feel it.
According to Crushed!?, this album is an intensely personal one for them due to the obstacles confronted and conquered during the writing and recording process and it is evident. Despedazándose is honest above all else and a reflection of the unforgiving yet beautiful experience of this particular moment in time.
It is also to be noted that Crushed!? are an incredibly good live band. I had the pleasure of seeing them in their hometown of Albuquerque, NM in 2020, pre-pandemic and it was a joyful, wild experience. When the oppressive veil of the pandemic is finally lifted, Crushed!? should be at the top of your list to see in person. No doubt they’ll be chomping at the bit to let you have it.