Late last month, The Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi announced the formation of a new band called CRX. The group’s debut album, New Skin, was produced by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and is due on October 28th via Columbia Records. Today we’re given our first listen at the effort in the form of “Ways to Fake It”.
Though there’s certainly a familiarity in the track’s guitar sounds, “Ways to Fake It” takes a markedly more poppy route than anything from Valensi’s other band. That could have something to do with CRX’s West Coast origins, as the track is pure LA alt-rock, crunchy enough to demand a dark club stage but with a sheen that suggests something much larger. Take a listen above.
New Skin is available for pre-order now and comes with an instant download of “Ways to Fake It”. CRX will preview the album during a show at the Troubadour on September 17th, after which they’ll play a few dates with Beck. Their schedule is below.
CRX 2016 Tour Dates:
09/17 – West Hollywood, CA @ The Troubadour
09/19 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas
09/20 – Columbus, OH @ Express Live *
09/22 – Bloomington, IN @ IU Pavilion *
09/23 – St. Louis, MO @ Peabody Opera House *
* = w/ Beck