Old Soul, New Song: Uncrossing's "IOU"

January 4, 2018

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Contrary to what you may have heard, new calendar years are not blank slates. That’s just not how time works. Time keeps going, building on itself, each year standing on the shoulders of the year before it. Still, the beginning of our arbitrary 365-day cycle does serve as an excuse to reflect on new starts.

Uncrossing are a new band building to the release of their self-titled debut. “IOU,” the EP’s closing track which you can stream exclusively below, was the first song the Brooklyn-based quartet wrote. As such, there’s no better way to get acquainted with their tastes and tendencies. They will never be this unadorned again.

“IOU” sounds like a first song — that may sound like an insult, but it isn’t. I don’t mean that it is hastily put together; on the contrary, Uncrossing are pretty slick when it comes to varying the song’s central riff. What I mean is that “IOU” is an excitable piece of music. Each time the band move into a new section, you can hear them discovering something about each other. They speed up for the chorus and lean in on the bridge, adding trills and delicious harmonies before taking off for the races in the finale. That ending doesn’t quite follow from the old school doom that proceeds it, but it works wonderfully as a test of Uncrossing’s meddle.

Though Uncrossing are a brand new band and “IOU” is a brand new song, neither exists without historical precedent. Just as a new year builds on the ground laid by years past, Uncrossing stand on the foundation built by countless metal and hard rock bands before them. Musically, “IOU” revolves around a riff straight out of the Vol.4 playbook: a woozy, laidback drawl that links doom metal to its blues roots. Singer Kristin Flammio delivers a dynamic performance that also draws from a classic blues lyric trope, giving a heartbreaker the boot. These are tried and true motifs in the world of hard rock, and I can think of few foundations stronger to announce yourself to the world on.

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