Crossley Hunter

Crossley Hunter’s musical influences might skew towards ‘90s alternative rock—the Ontario, Canada band lists Third Eye Blind, Our Lady Peace, Matthew Good among them—but underneath it all is a strong rustic sensibility too, as if Crazy Horse, Magnolia Electric Co., and Wilco have crept into the music as well. Whomever the influence, the six-piece’s new song “Burning Bright” is an affable combination of boisterous, mainstream-friendly rock and subtle Americana, one we’re glad to premiere here.

“I think the subject matter of this song pretty much applies to just about anybody,” says singer/guitarist Justin Hammond. “In life we get so preoccupied with fitting into these little predetermined boxes: we work jobs we hate because we’re supposed to, we practice whichever faith we’ve been force-fed since childhood, we only chase socially sanctioned dreams—we’re always struggling to fit in—and I think people eventually lose their true selves in the struggle. It’s like 90% of our lives are decided before we’re even born. So this tune is just about fighting through it, taking a real stab at life.” - Popmatters.com

Amidst all the genre hybrids and ever-changing tastes in the contemporary music scene, straight-ahead rock, the kind that in the 90s was synonymous with triple-word named acts (think Our Lady Peace, Wide Mouth Mason, Matthew Good Band) gets short-changed. If you’re not making epic post-punk rock operas or layering effects-laden guitar lines on top of sampled loops, you’re asking to slip through the cracks (or so it may feel).

What strikes me about the 90s rock influenced sound of Crossley Hunter’s self-titled debut album is just how comforting and familiar it feels. The guitar riffs are clean and thundering on opener “Devil Smiling”, and the current that carries the song’s piano-led melodies along. “Down and Out” motors on some classic rock tropes without ever sounding trite. “No Heart”’s beautiful acoustic core is the perfect showcase for vocalists Justin Hammond and Michelle Meesters. The four-piece band play with a journeyman-like work ethic, and producer John Wozniak (of 90s rockers Marcy Playground) has polished and set these 11 gems like a master jeweller.

The result is an earnest and accomplished record, one free of histrionics and irony. Crossley Hunter are a refreshing reminder that, in today’s music scene, you don’t have to revert to being weird to be worthy of recognition and review. Sometimes, all it takes is good music and musicianship to make a great record. - QuickBeforeItMelts.com

Crossley waste no time in drawing you in with “Devil Smiling,” which makes me feel as if Boys Like Girls and Daughtry brought on a female backup vocalist and decided to write a love song subtly hinting at that one instance of infatuation, tinged with regret, we can all relate to.
“Down and Out” and “Bring Me Down” are a couple of other tracks that stand firmly on their own; sad subject matter, yes, but empowering and instrumentally awesome.
Crossley Hunter is a great, consistently vibrant introduction to Justin (lead vocals), Stephen (guitar), Michelle (keyboard/backing vocals), and Jason (drums)–they’re mellow, while still maintaining a somewhat surprising and appealing edge.
Don’t just take my word for it, though. Check the album out below. - Popwrapped.com

We are thrilled to introduce our fabulous readers (that’s you!) to Canadian alternative-rock group Crossley Hunter. Comprised of Justin Hammond, Michelle Meesters, Stephen Bonnett, and Jason Meesters, the Canadian foursome released their first full-length self-titled record on August 7th via Blacktop Records.

Taken from the debut, we’re pleased to premiere Stomp Clap Drink — a short yet sweet and soothing track which features the band’s enchanting vocal harmonies. The song also features Crossley Hunter producer and engineer John Wozniak of Marcy Playground. When asked about the release, Crossley Hunter vocalist and guitarist Justin Hammond shared with AMBY;

“Stomp Clap Drink is a song about alcoholism. The first half of the song is from the perspective of the bottle and John’s verse is from the perspective of the drinker.” - AMusicBlogYea.com

Their self-titled first full-length CD, almost two years in production, with time on the front burner and the back burner, is ready to release. They will celebrate the occasion Saturday, August 29th at the Tillsonburg Legion with a rockin' CD Release Party. Doors open at 8 p.m., music begins at 9 p.m.

Admission is $10 – a steal, considering you get a free Crossley Hunter CD.

"Basically, we did all of our work – recorded everything – in about a month in 2013," said band member Justin Hammond. "The other two years was just waiting on them to do their thing, I guess. Some other things came up. But it all came out really well, we have it now and it sounds great. It's as good as we could ask for."

Hammond, Michelle Meesters, Stephen Bonnett and Jason Meesters make up the core of the band. They're looking to fill the bass position with a full-time player.

"It's still a family band," said Michelle, noting they're also still local.

During the extended mixing process, they band has developed new work, although Saturday's CD Release Party will focus on the 'Crossley Hunter' CD.

"We've pretty much already have another full-length written now," said Bonnett. "And there's several songs that we planned on being on the full-length that didn't make it. And there's songs that we completely rewrote just for it... which we didn't even decide we were going to do until the day we recorded it."

"Since there was such an incubation period, there were a couple thing we went back on and said, 'ok, let's do this a little differently.' Steve pretty much lived at the studio for like a month straight in Toronto."

"Probably six weeks," Bonnett nodded.

"But John (Wozniak) did do a good job as a producer," said Hammond, with a nod to their Marcy Playground producer. "He had some good ideas and he did some really great tones."

The band has been active over the past years, but they plan to ramp it up with their new release.

"Ben (Andress) helps us out a lot and his job is to push our stuff out there, but it's hard to advertise our stuff and get us around if we don't have something that's current. But we're over that now."

"You did a few things to keep busy," Andress noted. "A few shows and festivals." - The Tillsonburg News

Infectious is excited to premiere a new track from Crossley Hunter titled “Heaven Sent (I Am Not).” The song comes from the band’s debut self-titled full-length, which comes out on August 28th. Drawing influences from 90s alt-indie, the band was able to work with John Wozniak of Marcy Playground on their upcoming album, which was recorded at the iconic Mushroom Studios in Toronto, Ontario. Check out the exclusive premiere of “Heaven Sent (I Am Not)” after the jump!

Read more: http://www.infectiousmagazine.com/track-premiere-crossley-hunter-heaven-sent-i-am-not-2/#ixzz3o5GgkTWi - InfectiousMagazine.com