††† | EP 2

Deftones/Far (2012)

By DANIEL BROCKMAN | February 28, 2012

3.0 Stars

Don't be fooled by †††, a/k/a Crosses. Although the band name and album/song titles indicate that Deftones vocalist Chino Moreno's newest project might be a toedip into Witch House country, this project is more widescreen modern rock than sun-shirking, crypt-blip occult-techno. If anything, it's less a departure from his metallic Deftones dayjob than it is a logical follow-up to Team Sleep, his early-'00s collaboration with drummer Zach Hill, among others, where Moreno unleashed his inner Simple Minds to great effect. Here, working with Shaun Lopez and Chuck Doom, Moreno unveils expansive slow-burners like "†Elepa†hy" and "Fron†ier," as thrashing drums churn the waves, and electronic blurps and bleeps scroll slowly across the horizon. A line from the gorgeous quasi-slowjam "†Rophys" — "I walk away and play it safe/It's strange how it works" — is probably intended as a romantic statement of sorts, but it can be read as a self-evaluation of this project. Although some may have been expecting a bizarre candlelit rave-seance, Moreno uses ††† as a vacation from the aggro edge of 'Tones, instead indulging his desire to gently glide while still maintaining the anthemic lift of his mealticket.

Topics: CD Reviews , Music, Arts, CD reviews

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