Fair warning: Wicker Man-inspired costumes, grisly occult dealings and static-flickering VHS tapes lie ahead. For some of us (read: me), director Torin Langen's video for Crosss' "Golden Hearth" is the stuff of nightmares, but the heavy weirdness is definitely worth your time.
The Toronto band makes sludgy rock 'n' roll that some might call metal, but is more like a psychedelic and creepy-crawly Shellac riding H.R. Giger's ghost train. "Golden Hearth" is a gnarled tangle of thorny arpeggios, rumbling bass and doomy drums, not to mention guitarist Andy March's nasal croon. The band will release a new album this year, but in the meantime, its first two recordings — Obsidian Spectre and LO — are out now as a twofer on Joyful Noise.
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