CD Review
Artist: Crash Parallel
Album: World We Know
Label: Sony BMG Canada
Release Date: May 6th

Reviewed By: Isabel Lau (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada) 

It is a delight when you listen to a random debut album at the record store and you are immediately captivated by the first track. It's a nice bonus when there are three or so more tunes so well collaborated that it warrants the eventual purchase of the CD. But it becomes an absolute privilege when almost every song, from beginning to end, provides your ears with no less than an audio orgasm. This is what you will find with Crash Parallel's debut album, World We Know. Tim Edwards (vocals), Dan Saitua (guitarist), Gary Rugala (bass), and John Vitellaro (drums) make up this Torontonian band's smooth rock sound, which has been compared to the likes of Coldplay, The Fray, David Gray and Counting Crows. However, Edwards' deep and husky crooning is also not totally unlike that of Jason Wade from Lifehouse.

Despite their similarities to such established bands, Crash Parallel carves out their distinction with the sharpness of their guitar riffs, haunting piano melodies and most importantly, the longing in their lyrics. Although they sing about the complexities of love lost and found, the band digs deeper than such surface sentimentality; Crash Parallel doesn't hide their stance on environmental and social affairs on the tracks "World We Know" and "Casualties of War" where they express their concerns of not only what divides people against each other but also of the common global stewardship we share. "Rain Delays" is a powerful song about searching for something beyond the banality of the everyday and further substantiates itself with a remarkable guitar solo.

Don't despair, all you hopeless romantics out there! Edwards does a fabulous job at switching from socially conscious rocker to love-torn boy throughout the album. Songs like "Not that Simple", "Long Night Dreaming", "Straight Jacket", "Love You Still", "Dying Inside You", and "Autumn Leaves" all pack that kind of pleasant punch to the heart that we oddly desire sometimes. And if it seems even more bizarre that I have recommended almost all their songs, it is only because they are all just that good. The only grim drawback of Crash Parallel? The fact that they have not included Vancouver on their list of upcoming shows! For all you other lucky Canadians, Crash Parallel is performing in various cities, one of them being a gig at Kool Haus in Toronto with One Republic June 8^th. For more info on Canada's best new rock band, check out: http://www.myspace.com/crashparallel
 
World We Know - 3:29
Not That Simple - 3:23
Long Night Dreaming - 4:45
Rain Delays - 4:35
Save Yourself - 4:21
Straight Jacket - 4:05
Three Quarters Deep - 4:18
Love You Still - 3:54
Casualties of War - 3:35
Dying Inside You - 3:37
Autumn Leaves - 3:33