Crystal Skulls

On that first real spring day -- when the air still carries winter's crispness but the sun feels just a bit closer and the smells are a tad greener -- even the most mirthless life gains a spark of joy and hope. It's the kind of day when stoplights turn...

By Eryc Eyl

April 27, 2006

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On that first real spring day -- when the air still carries winter's crispness but the sun feels just a bit closer and the smells are a tad greener -- even the most mirthless life gains a spark of joy and hope. It's the kind of day when stoplights turn green as you approach, when strangers smile at each other and people alert you to that dollar you just dropped instead of surreptitiously pocketing it. On Crystal Skulls' Outgoing Behavior, it's that day. A hint of winter melancholy lurks behind the act's sunny, Brian Wilson-inflected tunes, and Christian Wargo's buttery croon carries the weight of the world like a feather while bandmates Yuuki Matthews, Ryan Phillips and Casey Foubert lay down grooves that rock with equal parts grit and grace. Lying in the hammock, letting alternating waves of regret and optimism ebb and flow, Crystal Skulls salve your burns and wounds, leaving only a cool, discharged memory and the wistful satisfaction of knowing that each of life's bitter lessons makes us a pinch wiser.

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