Labels: make a mess
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Although this is going to get lumped in with stuff like the Vivian Girls – “OMG! 3 GIRLS! PLAYING GUITARS!” – you should not necessarily tow the line on that one. Grass Widow’s songs on this LP are a whole lot more involved and a whole lot less cheerily shambolic than the Vivian Girls. Grass Widow sound very little like any band I can bring to mind, their distinguishing mark is the astonishing harmonies and how the layers of multiple vocals work off each other. The singing is incredibly soulful and I haven’t heard anything that much like this in the whole world of indie rock / post punk / whatever you’d like to call it. There are small moments and elements of the song structure that bring to my mind mid 90s Californian emo band Crash & Britany, I am sure no-one else is going to come close to suggesting that, but particularly on tracks like the closer with it’s awesome Slint-y intro bassline, I reckon this is audible.
The opening song on here “To Where” is probably one of the most awesome things I have heard in ages, rumbling along bassily, summoning up a sweet groove then settling down. Those incredible vocals gently on top, building up and up before unwinding again at the end. “Celebrate the Mundane” follows a long and again puzzles and delights in equal measure, quick-fire, softly sung vocals combine with the insistent bass that is holding everything together, before later on in the song everything gets a whole lot darker and the repetition drives things to conclusion. Grass Widow has a habit of switching things up to great effect, “Green Screen” slides from the killer harmonies into hectic bouncy rhythm and urgency with little indication as to what is coming. Songs like this one are so ridiculously well crafted, so often you’ll hear a band with a few great ideas that they cram into a song, but they have no idea how to merge those ideas together. Grass Widow have no such trouble, hence why this is such a good listen.
This is by some margin my favourite release in 2009, and I’d urge you to listen to this band if you are at all interested in creative post punk (or whatever you feel like calling this) filled with garage inspiration and a whole host of other touches that you won’t stumble across on anything else that comes out this year. Probably. Anyway. Super.