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Awww yeah.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s my initial and abiding reaction to \u201cMotion Animal,\u201d the first single off Chris Richard aka crash<\/strong><\/a>‘s solo debut, Hardly Criminal<\/em>. Crash,\u00a0backup singer for the Magnetic Zeros<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and frontman for\u00a0Deadly Syndrome<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>finally gets to spotlight his tenor at its sultry finest on this dressed-down soul track, and the motown gods are surely pleased.<\/p>\n

Anyone familiar with the singer\u2019s work would be surprised to see him stick fully in one genre for a full album, though, and Hardly Criminal<\/em> expands satisfyingly from soul outward. Crash grew up in Louisiana, imbibing a country-fied blend of Americana, folk, and New Orleans street-performer blues, and he can do all those styles with equally endearing swagger. \u201cMotion Animal\u201d comes two tracks in and holds its title as the catchiest number through the end of this record, but we hear plenty of that danceability on the down-homier \u201cIf God Was A Cajun\u201d and the string-happy \u201cAll My Friends.\u201d What\u2019s especially impressive about Hardly Criminal<\/em>, though, is how well crash pulls off the slower, sweeter stuff. On the succinct \u201cSong For The Birds,\u201d crash keeps his oddball charm in the lyrics (\u201cWas feeding you worms\/but I forgot that you don\u2019t eat them\u201d) but strums introspective layers of round-like, repetitive acoustic guitar, angling his voice away from soul flourish and towards a simpler, more vulnerable croon. \u201cBritches Catch Fire,\u201d one of the album\u2019s most impressive demonstrations of crash\u2019s sheer power to sustain a high note, hints at gospel in the harmonies. His versatility looms large, and surprises again and again on this record.<\/p>\n

All told, the quieter tracks add up to a majority of Hardly Criminal<\/em>, and I would have liked to see the album filled out with a couple more swingers – \u201cMotion Animal\u201d left me jonesing for more groove – but both in terms of songwriting and vocals, crash skillfully pulls off every style he ambles into on this collection. No matter the flavor, every single track on Hardly Crimina<\/em>l is worth a replay. This cat is it.<\/p>\n

Hardly Criminal<\/em> drops May 6th. You can preorder it here<\/strong><\/a>, and check the “Motion Animal” music video below for a soulful blast of groovy get-down:
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