Highway Cross
Run Dry
Toxic Pop Records
Street: 04.10
Highway Cross = Cloak/Dagger + Grabass Charlestons
Highway Cross sound like a grown up hardcore punk band. There are moments that have glimmers of Dag Nasty or Hüsker Dü in the eight minutes of charging guitars over semi-harsh vocals. Clearly these guys still have their roots in punk, but there are brief moments showing that they, as musicians, have a broader palette. You can easily classify the song “Ringing In My Ears” as hardcore, but the out of place major key, and pacing that is far from breakneck fast, say otherwise—I’d put this in the alt-country genre if it were slower. These guys could have the potential to cross genres if they felt inclined. “Run Dry” is the strongest song of the four tracks—the first half is at jogging pace with a The Hold Steady sound, but that is quickly kicked in the teeth by MDC speed and aggression. –Alex Cragun