This album starts off on a very sloppy and awkward foot with “Neveah”. I don’t mind the very dreary vocals and the upbeat ride that for some reason almost has a New Wave vibe. But 40 seconds in this one fades out halfway through a verse. This isn’t some artsy intro meant to blow our minds and make The Growlers seem ahead of the curve. No, this is incomplete and practically a demo. On the other hand, “Problems III” is practically The Growlers answer to Psych Pop. There are some major Ariel Pink vibes here, or any other Hypnagogic Pop act out there. I love just how hazy and incredibly colorful this one is, even if it’s not the most stunning vocal performance from singer Brooks Nielsen. But while I do really like this tune, and it’s clearly one of the catchier tracks here, the production seems a little half-baked. This isn’t some edgy, Low-Fi back-step from The Growlers, this just sort of sounds like them imitating this sound. Thankfully, they do it justice, and it’s certainly one of the more well-written tracks here. On the other hand, “Heaven in Hell” sort of brings back the sort of sunny, Surf vibes of their early recordings. However, it’s not nearly as upbeat as usual, making for a much less appealing tune. Like, I do really enjoy the very sunny atmosphere, that’s actually done really well. Not to mention, I do like some of the lyrics quite a bit. But once again, there’s something about this track and this album that’s just so insincere. Now, if The Growlers really are done with the whole Garage Rock sound, “Pavement” really isn’t that terrible of a track. I love just how massive this track comes off, and how graceful and classy these instrumentals are. Now, Growlers have always sort of had a darkness underneath their sunny atmospheres. But here, it comes off so much more in your face. Hell, it’s almost goofy in parts. But call me crazy, I’m more into this than some of the other tracks here where the band try so hard to reclaim their sound.
With “Decoy Face” we’re right back to the band’s “classic” sound. Or at the very least, it seems like that from a distance. Growlers here continue to go constantly in a darker direction. And honestly, that’s not even what I have an issue with. Honestly, I think that’s something that usually I would be totally into, and I’m actually into a lot of the vocals here and just how campy this one is overall. But instrumentally, outside of some one-off pleasant surprises like some synths and strings, it’s pretty straightforward. The mood overall is so genuinely interesting, I really wish I could get into the rest of this. But hey, for a genuinely straightforward and totally Growlers sounding track, “Orgasm of Death” may just be the best track here.. This album has shown the Growlers experimenting with all sorts of sounds, but this one is just so simple that it sounds incredible really. To the point where honestly, I wouldn’t mind returning to this one. The bluesy Saxophone, the sort of Romantic lyrics, the soaring synths, the endearing vocal performances, I’m into it all. It’s also easily the catchiest track here, I’m glad The Growlers can put together a solid track when they try. But “Drop Your Phone in the Sink” is just an exercise in just how much these guys have fallen. The instrumental here is funky and all, and at first I sort of dug it. But everything else about this one, from Brooks’s performance that’s just cringe-worthy to just how cheesy everything else is just making this one not for me at all. I mean really, “Drop Your Phone in the Sink” is straight up goofy. On other tracks here, The Growlers have really embraced what makes them different by going for a darker track, whether it works entirely or not. But holy fuck, this all just comes off not interesting. At the very least, if they’re going to go for an almost goofy, b-list horror tune, “Thing For Trouble’ is so much more interesting. I actually feel like this one has a good amount of tension to it. Not to mention, Brooks’s performance on this one just comes off so much more genuinely interesting. But, I continue to feel like this could be so much more. Vocally this is all gravy. But there could be so many more Surf and Garage vibes thrown in. I just really wish that passion was still there, however, this is certainly not a terrible track. This album, on the other hand, is pretty bad.
Then we get “Last Cabaret”, and this one my friends is just a little too sunny for me. Like, I know that The Growlers are far from the heaviest Garage Rock band, and have always been a little more focused on making ballads. And as far as the chorus goes, this is just fine. But so much of this track is phoned in, bringing in countless classic cliches from their back-catalog, but doing it with much less energy and passion. There are some genuinely solid ideas on this album, but they almost all just sound like they would have been cooler 6 years ago. This album rounds off with its title track, “Casual Acquaintances”, and they choose this time to go for a slightly more upbeat track. Now, this is something I wanted to hear for this entire album. But now that they’re trying it out, it’s absolute trash. It’s just so uninteresting, and I still feel like this is just entirely too sweet. What the hell happened to this band?
Rating: 6.4/10
Give A Listen To: “Problems III”, “Pavement”, “Orgasm of Death”, “Thing For Trouble”
Least Favorite Track: “Casual Acquaintances”
Genre: Garage Rock / Surf Rock
Overall Thoughts: This is easily the most inconsistent and sloppy Growlers have ever sounded. There are tracks here where the band shows that they still have a really great, sunny, Surf Rock sound that’s missing right now in Garage Rock. But to call this album a mixed bag would be an understatement. Every time The Growlers dish out a track that sounds halfway decent, they rebound with numerous tracks that bring in elements of Synthpop and who the hell even knows what else. It’s ugly, it’s not nearly as catchy, and miles from just how cool this band once was.
No comments:
Post a Comment