New Music Review: Hurt - "The Crux"

Release Date: May 1, 2012

The wait is finally over! It's been about three years since the last time HURT released an album, and while that's average wait time for most bands, you need to understand that HURT released three full albums (Four if you count "The Re-Consumation"), several EP's, and a DVD between 2006 and 2009. This is not even counting the two albums released in 2000 and 2002. More amazingly, they were all well produced, performed and written, a rarity for an artist putting out so much at once. With this spectacular track record I was expecting a masterpiece of an album, and HURT does not disappoint, but I do have a couple of issues with it currently. "The Crux" (The Cross) is a good album which continues the band's tradition of brutal honesty in all situations, intelligent lyrics, and a mix of traditional and modern instruments. It seems to be harder instrumentally than the previous album, lacking an even balance of the more quiet songs I've come to expect until you've gotten pretty far into the album. I don't dislike the heavy songs, but the flow between styles is what always made their albums feel much more like a story to me than just a collection of singles and it seems like they may rely a bit too much on the harder tones this time around. It works ok and balances out in the end, but it feels a little "top-heavy" at first. The singles "Numbers" and "How We End Up Alone", both of which were released well in advance of the actual album, have been placed at the end, making me curious how much of the album was written prior to these tracks. Don't get me wrong, I love the album and feel it's one of the best releases this year, but I don't think it can beat its predecessors just yet. That may also be what gives the album strength in a way though as it gets more play. It's a fresh starting point for those new to HURT's music, and a good continuation for current fans. Overall I'd give it a 5/5 as far as albums go, but 4/5 as far as HURT goes. Do buy this album if you like good "modern" rock, don't buy this album if you hate "modern" rock (Seems simple enough). Heck, you can still pre-order the album and get the epic shirt and decal that come with it if you go here: 

http://carvedrecords.storenvy.com/collections/67915-the-crux-presale

Tracklist:

1. So When

2. Eden

3. Links & Waves

4. Sally Slips*

5. When It's Cold*

6. Adonai

7. Caught In The Rain

8. Cuffed

9. How We End Up Alone*

10. Numbers

11. The Seer

* Denotes swearing since this isn't a "Parental Advisory" release. That said, this album is not for children.

Profanity: 3/5 (For specific terms rather than amount of usage)

Sexual Content: 1/5 (More related to profanity reference than anything)

Violence: 1/5 (Nothing major or out of the ordinary for this)