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Review

REVIEW: Crossing I's Dotting T's Release Their Self-Reflective New Single "Would You Speak?"

Written By:
Sarah Peterson
Photography By:
Posted:
November 25, 2022

This may seem a little intense right off the bat, but Crossing i’s Dotting t’s new single, “Would You Speak?” is my new favorite song. It has everything that makes me happy—meaning, guitar sounds that remind me of Anberlin’s “Feel Good Drag”, and some of the best vocal fry screams I’ve ever heard.

It usually takes a few listens and maybe a day or two for me to really chew on the song’s meaning and sound for me to really fall in love with it, but with this track, it was love at first listen. The thought behind why this track was written and the work put forth to make that feeling come across makes something like this so effortless to write about and so important to recommend.

This song is not only right up my alley as a post-hardcore fan but also explores a concept close to my heart: the ability to fully know yourself and discover the “why” behind the things you do—something I’ve tried really hard to do since the beginning of 2019. I think I, like a lot of people during the pandemic, started realizing that there is so much that I just merely accepted as part of myself and part of my life when in reality it was just things that I had developed as almost a sort of social currency. “Would You Speak?” comes at the listener with a real urge to get them to go deep inside themselves, making this song on meaning alone something extremely special and valuable. How many other songs can you think of that get the listener to understand themselves more fully and get them to really look in the mirror? I’m willing to bet not many.

Crossing i’s Dotting t’s discovered a real need for musicians as well as listeners – songs that not only make the listener feel something and connect but songs that may make the listener uncomfortable and possibly lead the listener to a deeper sense of knowing themselves. The band wrote that the song really focuses on the areas of self-reflection and knowing yourself, and that’s something I truly believe is needed in our world today for forward progress, both as a society and for our own selves.

The concepts behind “Would You Speak?” almost even go into the Jungian “Shadow Self” area, and that’s certainly something I’ve never heard of in this genre. They wrote that they are “asking people if they would still be doing the things they “love to do” if nobody was paying attention to them.” The band is asking their audience to really look at who they are, what makes up the aspects of their life and identity, and to really question that. They ask listeners if the things that make up their life, personality, and image are really for themselves, or if they are hiding their true selves in favor of a more society-accepted role. I think we can all connect with that on some level.

I won’t get too much on my soapbox, but I think this is a huge issue among not only music industry professionals, but one that also runs rampant within our world of influencers and social media. The band says that they “want people to realize through new music that you do not need to just go with the flow of everyone else. We want our listeners to be themselves and love themselves, even if they don't do what everyone else does, or if the things they do don’t get attention.” So, get your freak on, dance even if you look silly, and maybe understand yourself a little better – all while jamming to an awesome track with evocative lyrics, passionate vocals, and lots of distortion.

When is the last time you did something just for yourself? When is the last time you really thought about the things that you’re engaged in and why? That’s what Crossing i’s Dotting t’s is asking us to do through this track, to just stop and think about the “why” in what we do, and if what you’re doing is even for you. They know that the real you is waiting to come out and live their most authentic and happy life, even if it doesn’t fit nicely in a box of what gets attention and approval. I love everything about this track and I’m honored to be able to help spread the message that Crossing i’s Dotting t’s is trying to spread. I hope that you enjoy this new single as much as I did.

about the author

Sarah Peterson

she/they
sarahgpeterson@live.com
Austin/San Antonio, TX
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