Crescendo - Unless (2016)

Crescendo are an indie/dreampop trio from Los Angeles, CA comprised of Gregory Cole, Olive Kimoto and Jess Krichelle. When I first met Cole through social media back in August 2014, right before the release of the band’s debut album, Lost Thoughts, all I remember is him being so energetic and gracious for coverage of any kind. While most bands will share a humble ‘thank you’ and move on, I was quite shocked at how kind and friendly he was. I later learned of his mission, like mine, to create a community surrounded by music. When I recently told him I listened to the new record, Unless, the first thing he asked me was, “How did it make you feel? How was the experience?” and right then I knew that he was one of the few who just gets it – how music should be consumed vs. this short attention span notion of only releasing singles to please the masses.

In honor of the release of the band’s sophomore effort, Unless, out today, we asked Gregory to dive deep into the record and share his thoughts on what each track means to him in this exclusive (and rather, eccentric) track-by-track commentary. Stream the album below for the ultimate Crescendo experience!

Before we begin listening to the record, my favorite places to listen to the record was in the car, getting comfortable on a couch or in bed with headphones really loud. However when listening to it in the car, I did drive faster at times based on the music, so proceed with caution.