The Cringe – Hiding in plain sight

New York rock band The Cringe are currently on tour in the UK supporting Steel Panther so will be hoping to impress fans with their live show before they release their new album in April.  The band formed in 2004 and consists of John Cusimano (vocals/guitar/keyboards), ex Air/Mr Bungle guitarist James Rotundi, ex Crash Moderns bassist Jonny Matias and Bruce Springsteen/Saturday Night Live Band member Shawn Pelton on drums.

The album is probably best decribed as Alternative rock although at times it’s more pop – a couple of the tracks definitely reminded me of Robbie Williams, who’s hardly known for having much in the way of rock credentials.

I’m not a fan of the vocals on this album – John Cusimano’s voice just doesnt appeal to me, and at the times is definitely reminiscent of Robbie Williams, and that’s the first issue I have with the album.
The main issue for me though is that while the songs are all pretty good, there’s nothing here that stands out and really grabs your attention or sticks in your memory after listening.  It’s the sort of stuff that probably goes down well on the radio but to me it’s just not that interesting.
I’ve listened to plenty of albums this year that satisfy the description “All killer, no filler”, but this album from The Cringe is more a case of “All filler, no killer”.

“Hiding in plain sight” will be released on 14th April 2014

Track listing:

1. Rushing through the world
2. Finally gonna be on your own
3. Deep girl
4. One horse town
5. Gotta find a way
6. Make me something
7. Gimme resurrection
8. Get me some
9. Jord Jim
10. Blame it all on me
11. String you along so long