Glistening guitars embrace us with open arms in “Chasin’ My Tail.” The labored melody of a supple piano is also quite similar in “To Be Real.” At times, White Collar Crime are soft, vulnerable and unguarded, as in “Leaving You,” while in others, they’re relentlessly angst-ridden, unapproachable and full of bitter emotion. This is 30 Years in the NY Rain, White Collar Crime’s opus, and despite the title of the record, it doesn’t sound like an exercise in retrospection at all – far from it. There’s a lot for this band to get off their chest, and in 30 Years in the NY Rain, they pursue catharsis through any means necessary with some pleasing results.
BANDCAMP: https://whitecollarcrime3.bandcamp.com/album/30-years-in-the-ny-rain-full-album
“Dream the Dream” has the bones of a Dire Straits song with the angry volatility of something a bit more alternative in nature. Along with “Letter to You,” which immediately follows it. I think this song might be the most tuneful and sensibly-arranged of the entire LP. This isn’t to suggest that the ambitious “New York Rain,” exposed “Cigarettes” and “If You Call” are somehow lacking in melodic substance, but rather to acknowledge just how sweet some of the select tracks on 30 Years in the NY Rain are. “Sweet Surrender” is definitely a multilayered treat I want to revisit again and although “Just a Song” is a little aesthetically simplistic, its hook is fun for anyone who likes straightforward pop/rock.
With 30 Years in the NY Rain, White Collar Crime throw a little bit of old fashioned rock into the 2020 mix while steering clear of any experimentalism that might have kept mainstream audiences from getting interested in their sound. Some things just never go out of style, and in the case of unfanciful pop and rock music, it’s hard to imagine beats like those we discover on this record going anywhere any time soon.
Jodi Marxbury