Labels: SHDWPLY
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Despite having the worst band name since A, The G have managed to crank out a cracking debut LP here. If you miss the days of grungemo and Goldenrod, then I am pretty sure that this LP is going to make you feel pretty sexy. The G rumble through 13 songs of heavy hitting indie rock that summons up memories of bands like Unwound and Hum at the same bloody time, which takes some doing. The whole muddy sonic feel of the thing lends to a rather stoned atmosphere as the band lumber along with heavy riffs, fat bass and deep vocals that give way to yelling and back again to singing or whatever it takes to get the job done, but they still manage to sprinkle in plenty of hook and melody that will sucker in a wretch like me. Just dig into a song like “Trouble in Heat”, where the dual vocals and the gripping guitar lines (that actually recall Policy of 3) latch on. They follow it up with the sweet, fuzzed out sounds of “Black and Blue”, before it spirals off into a loud wall of, um, vocals. Super! I would suggest that the only real negative here is that the songs are often too short, and the LP sounds a bit like a collection of early songs rather than a cohesive whole that flows, but that’s only natural for a formative release. I suspect that the next full length that this band deliverse will be somewhat more sticky. Regardless of that, there is plenty to love right here.
I think if lately you’ve enjoying the likes of Sisters and Gun Outfit then you’ll find a lot to like with The G’s grunge indulgent sound. It’s good to hear that a band is still willing to lay it out like this, harp back to a pretty uncool (these days) musical era and just let loose with all barrels, but still manage to filter something fresh and new into what most would have considered a fairly burned out corpse. Good work, The G! Now we just need a band that sounds like Calm.