May 14, 2025

Crossword Smiles: Consequences & Detours

Detroit indie pop duo Crossword Smiles finally made the plunge in 2022 with the release of their Pressed & Ironed album.Tom Curless and Chip Saam bonded over their shared love for power pop and melodic college rock. For their follow-up Consequences & Detours they made baroque pop part of the equation,, culminating in the stand-out track Millicent, a crash course for how to get it right when writing a truly sad love song.

As the album's title suggests, there are no actions without consequences when skirting the choppy waters that can take a relationship by surprise. Curless and Saam tackle the good and bad times with a sense of humour, wrapping their short stories in multi-faceted shiny pop songs, wherein melody is king.

Crossword Smiles:
Tom Curless: guitars, drums, vocals
Chip Saam: bass, guitars, vocals
Special guests:
Joel Boyea: keyboards
Greg Addington: keyboards, guitars
Rod Capps: violin and viola on "Typical Waving Goodbye"
Lenny Grassa: lead guitar on "Counting by Fives"
David Baldwin: trumpets on "Night Train"
Dave Caruso: keyboards and synth on "Girls Club"
Madeline Curless: backing vocals on "Millicent"
Timothy Monger: accordion on "Millicent"

Crossword Smiles: Consequences & Detours

Consequences & Detours is released via Big Stir Records (vinyl,CD, digital). Release date: May 23.

Tracks:
  1. Counting By Fives
  2. Falling All Over Myself
  3. Girls Club
  4. Millicent
  5. Night Train
  6. Typical Waving Goodbye
  7. Navigator Heart
  8. Once Or Twice
  9. Fake A Smile
  10. Kismet
  11. The Never Seens

Live date:

» Crossword Smiles on Facebook

HCTF review of Pressed & Ironed

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