The Crossword – A new LP for $10,000 reviewed.
Written by Rob Stewart on April 2, 2015
$10,000 – The Crossword
Reviewed by Maria de Sotto
There are a few birthday presents I received as a kid that made my 1980s childhood complete: Cabbage Patch dolls, Donkey Kong video game, ‘Smash Hits’ cassettes, and my mini Casio synthesizer. I’m particularly sentimental with that last one and not just because it was a pretty big deal at show and tell. My shiny, new Casio was a magical device that turned me into a rock star in the privacy of my own bedroom. Not that I could actually play the thing. I would just hit the Bossa Nova key and pretend I was jamming out with Bon Jovi. Sigh, good times.
So when I came upon ‘The Crossword EP’ and saw that the opening number, ‘Intro (Casio)’ is a short recording of the artist when he was four-years old mucking about on his very own synthesizer, I had a really good feeling about this release.
Melbourne artist, Cal Reid is $10,000.00 and this solo project is his first EP. There are six tracks in total and although there’s both a grungy rock song and an acoustic ballad, it is the quirky synthesizer sounds that feature predominantly on the other tracks that remain with the listener. It’s a fun, cheesy dose of guitar riffs and pop-electronica that would serve as the perfect soundtrack to a Wes Anderson film. When the synthesizer bops around on favourites like ‘Magnets’ and ‘I’ll Be There’, I can easily picture Bill Murray delivering his lines in perfect, deadpan fashion.
$10,000.00 has created a happy musical experience with this release and it is well worth a listen. The production is a little rough but that only adds to its charm.
I write stuff down when I can find a spare moment, I try not to work too hard.
