The Cruzarz are throwing in some new wrinkles into their sound
on Crosstied. I heard So True in November of 2002 and felt it was
good Christian rock music. They have definitely made some improvements
to their overall sound and approach, giving them a more eclectic base
of genres to draw from. Once again, I heard their ties to the blues
but now I am hearing a country-rock flavor in Jack Beckers lead guitar
playing. It reminded of the Eagles and similar sounding bands.
I recognized this readily on every track.
Their subject matter remains the same; they are Christians spreading
the word of the Lord through their music. I do not mind that one iota;
this is a good-feeling-all-over type of album with value abounding
at every musical turn. You cannot ask for much more as a listener
that enjoys rock music with some taste and flair. In a musical sense
of the word, they offer the horn of plenty, a holy atonement if you
will, through their music, which acknowledges our weaknesses as humans
while always offering hope.
It is good to see growth with a band and to hear something that was
not like what they recorded on the previous release. This is the mark
of true talent and I believe that this band will continue to evolve
just as the individuals in the group are.
I would like to hear some acoustic instrumental material from them
next time around, possibly with a choir backing them as well; a church
has great acoustics for all that! (Which I am sure they are very aware).
That is only a personal preference but I also believe that they would
do a nice job with an arrangement like that. Well, that is my request
for the next album; I sure enjoyed this one though.
The only disappointment was the video; it is a MOV file, which I could
not view for some reason. I have Windows XP Professional with Windows
Media Player version 9 with all the updates so I cannot understand
what happened, however I did get an error message stating that the
file may be corrupted. Anything is possible with computers we all
know that. Well that was a minor problem; it was an unexpected bonus,
so it was no big deal for me because the music was very satisfying.
1. The Lament-3:20
2. Stay The Same-4:35
3. Dem Lies-3:08
4. Joppa Glow-4:22
5. The Way-2:55
6. Times Away-4:22
7. Otium Sanctum-4:25
8. Wake Up-3:07
9. Is Freedom-4:41
10. Crosstied-6:16
Bonus:
Victory Love Video (MOV File)
