Crying Beyond the Fleeting Gales

If the title Beyond the Fleeting Gales infers some comprehensive maxim expressed in a pithy and dramatic manner, then Crying do a mighty good job at translating that sentiment in a musical context. The Purchase, NY trio first caught the attention of their local campus scene with their sound chip-synthesized beginnings, and though they’ve now evolved into a more traditional format, what hasn’t really changed is their partiality to overturn the affectations of eighties stadium rock. Except that instead of posing the macho-posturing image it obviously manifests, the band taps into a more deferential and melodious delivery brought my Elaiza Santos’s amiable stage presence.

This “what will they think of next?” premise may immediately turn off those who have an illogical aversion to anything that resembles baby-boomer nostalgia. Crying certainly approach this with genuine openness without a tainted frame of reference, as the righteously synth-blares and heroic guitars of Patriot and Revive undertake a mammoth, victorious strut that could come across as Frankie Cosmos fronting Survivor. Most of Beyond the Fleeting Gales hits with a uncompromising positivity that often contradicts the sorrowful gentleness in her words. It often seems as if Santos is boldly decompressing in a track like A Sudden Gust, where she’s reflecting on how far she’s personally overcome; and really, why not have the privilege of a talented shredder like band member Ryan Galloway to provide some hefty pathos.

But what gives further insight into Crying’s future comes in the form of a quieter track like Children of the Wind, which opts to somehow rewrite the psychedelic reverie of Strawberry Fields Forever without dismissing their natural inclination for tawdry balladry. It’s a bit messy, but also a fascinating display of playful abandon, a skill they uphold right until the very end when album closer The Curve unabashedly shoots for the stars with a blistering, Korg-smothered prog epic. Crying are relishing life’s small conquests, and what’s so wrong about celebrating with impressive pyrotechnics when it’s way more fun.