  Alien Crime Syndicate
From Dust
to Dirt
Collective Fruit
CD Review by
Dave Liljengren
From Dust to
Dirt is a 13 song collection of melodic rock
dynamism which gives no quarter and requires
little explanation. Songwriter Reineke uses
frisky punk pop-- his sonic signature since the
Meices burst straight outta 'Frisco in 1992-- as
a starting point. From there he leads the band on
artistic raids of increasing complexity into
uptempo metal, groove rock, surf pop and light
electronica. Through it all he is able to fashion
hooks that stick and write zinging lyrics
enriched by the swaggering braggadocio and
unquenchable hope of deathless youth.
"Do It
Again," is a catchy pop metal ingot which
shows that this guitar band has some bite in the
high end. "Nothing Beats the Surf In,"
is an effervescent surf-punk retrofit which
serves as a California geography lesson with
wave-breaking place names shouted out in the
backing vocal tracks.
With a quavering
synth intro and a title reminiscent of 50s sci-fi
celluloid, "Take Me To Your Leader,"
serves as a calling card for the band. In the
fictional alien invasion of the song, fear and
chaos reign on the streets of America as the
misundertood invaders from the other world greet
the earthly leaders with a hearty, "What's
up, Hoss?" That scene, in a nutshell, is Alien Crime
Syndicate. With From Dust to Dirt,
it's clear an alien force has landed. Then again,
with a work this strong, they may have just taken
off.
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