The third album by the New York duo the Tinklers continues the loose and playful feel of their second, 1991's Saplings, while moving away from the fragmentation of their debut, Casserole. Their most "produced" record yet, Crash features Charles Brohawn and Chris Mason veering into almost-normal territory for the first time; none of the 16 songs are under two minutes, and there are none of the brief spoken word and sound effect interludes that broke up the earlier records. Even more remarkably, the topic at hand on many of these songs is that pop-song staple, love lost and found. The Tinklers are still their idiosyncratic selves - "Foreign Exchange Student" is about falling in love with a girl from another country, then discovering she has a boyfriend back home - but there's a newfound emotional maturity to this record that makes it a little more accessible to listeners who might be put off by the Half Japanese-style faux-naif posturing of Saplings or the disturbing undercurrents of Casserole. However, longtime fans will be relieved that the opening "Hank Greenberg and Jackie Robinson" and a goofy rendition of the Broadway standard "They Call the Wind Mariah" show that Brohawn and Mason haven't lost their uniqueness. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
Kramer (Emulator), Macioce (Photography), Charles Brohawn (Performer), Chris Mason (Performer), Ron Paul (Engineer), The Tinklers (Cover Art), Kramer (Producer), Charles Brohawn (?)
