Kerry Pastine and the Crime Scene’s “City of Love” is a rambunctious and rollicking musical ride courtesy of the most talented music unit to emerge in recent memory from the Denver, Colorado musical scene. They are well versed in the style and that’s obvious during every second of this near four-minute track, but the most notable thing for me is how they remake the expected elements of this style in their own image and come up with something, dare I say it, new. Any tradition with hopes of long-term survival needs practitioners to step forward capable of bringing something unique in them to that tradition otherwise such things inevitably wither on the vine and die. Kerry Pastine and the Crime Scene are the sound of modern blues with other musical styles mixed in for good measure and the title track from the third studio release has all of the qualities that separate them from rank imitators.
URL: https://www.crimesceneband.com/
There are many reasons why Pastine and the Crime Scene’s songs stand out, but that aforementioned individuality is chief among them. It is clear they are working within the own world musically and share a rare level of chemistry apparent from the first notes of this track and running through all of their past work as well. All of us are aware of bands or artists who assemble top-flight musicians together, obviously talented performers, who nevertheless fall short of staying in our consciousness because they are never or rarely on the same wavelength. Not true with Kerry Pastine and the Crime Scene. They play and sing as a single cohesive unit and that feeling will inspire confidence in any listener to hear more from this outfit.
The video underlines that chemistry. Yes, of course, you can fake camaraderie for cameras, but there’s something about the accompanying promo clip for this song that suggests to me this is a band that truly enjoy one another’s company and love the time they share together onstage. Pastine is, of course, the musical center of the tune. Her breathtaking vocal prowess is apparent in every line and she, even more remarkably, never overplays her hand as a singer. This suggests a closer connection to her craft and the material than many vocalists typically have. Her phrasing, in particular, makes already fine lyrical content leap to life for listeners.
Paul Shellooe’s production puts it all in the best possible light. Many listeners will like the light veneer of atmospherics he applies to the playing via echo. There are few, if any, other effects present. It isn’t brickwalled like many modern recordings – it has a tangible live quality, like they recorded the song with singer and musicians all in the same room, but it embraces feel over sonic firepower. Kerry Pastine and the Crime Scene’s “City of Love” represents a turning point of sorts for this Denver band – they are elevating their “game” and you can expect anyone lucky enough to encounter their music will follow them from that moment onward.
Jodi Marxbury