TechnicLePanther

Troll, what genre of album should I recommend?

Also, my review is here now:

The Gris Gris - The Gris Gris


This is certainly an odd album. However, it may just be one of those rare cases where you have an odd album with mass appeal. And there is definitely a lot of appeal to this album. By mixing early neo-psych tendencies with indie rock, The Gris Gris have made an enjoyable blend for almost any modern music connoisseur. The album begins with Raygun, a track that feels a bit like a pot of water slowly rising to a boil. The opener features a slow marching drum beat and a jangly guitar which are slowly enveloped by a haze of noise, then an abrupt change towards a much faster-paced drum line which slowly accumulates instruments until the much slower breakdown and the repeated "Raygun, raygun, da dum, da dum".

The next track, Everytime is much shorter and will impress neo-psych fans with a, perhaps unintentional, homage to Astronomy Domine. The keys in this one also play a prominent role. Mary #38 has even more psychedelic appeal, with a slow slippery drumline and palpable bass. Me queda um bejou, a guitar-heavy, almost entirely acoustic track with a hint of piano also showcases a sax solo, demonstrating a bit of range for the band, and the whole track does have a bit of a romantic feel to it. Plain Vanilla is overall a pretty stressful and unsightly track, which at this point is obviously intentional. Many wild instrumentals weave in and out of the main bass line and create a colorful dissonance.

What I can only presume is the second half of the album begins with an uptempo blues track called Necessary Separation. I have to praise the guitar work in the solo towards the middle of the track, it certainly calls back Clapton in its simple virtuosity. One drum line persists throughout this entire track, with what I assume to be the same bass line underneath all of that noise! Certainly one of the more experimental and perhaps patience-testing tracks on the album. The penultimate track, Medication #3 reminds me a bit of the Sung Tongs and Feels from Animal Collective, and the melody of the track is probably one of the best and also one of the most blatantly post-60s of the album. The melancholy feel of the track does, however, serve as a nice contrast to the simple country ditty finishing off the album, Winter Weather.

So what can I say? This album drew me in like a fish on a hook. While most of the production and performance is sloppy, the songwriting and attitude of the band have won me over. This album doesn't really have a track that you can point to and say, this one is worse than this other one, it feels more like it's just up to personal taste. And nothing about this album is stale or overblown. The tracks are just long enough and the contrast between them is just large enough to prevent boredom or distaste. With that said, there's nothing about this LP that jumps out at you to make an amazing album. The downside of having a bunch of good tracks is that you can't have any that are great. And don't get me wrong, I love a solid, consistent album, but there has to be something beyond consistency to throw an album into the upper echelon. Still, at least to me, this album is really good, a solid 7-8 out of 10.

This LP fits between Grateful Dead - American Beauty and Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked At Me on my ranked albums list. Note: This list hasn't been around for very long, so I still don't have many LPs to measure up to.

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SUGGEST ME AN ALBUM - I'm probably not going to listen to it but I will if you bother me enough.

Electrophonic Tonic

So far we've had

-Shoegaze/indie/neo-psyche

-Grindcore/thrash with a comedic bent

-Experimental/noise/math rock

-Indie/garage/psyche rock

-Noisy/alt rock with a southern twang

-Rap rock/pop punk

-Lo-fi college/indie rock

And upcoming (according to rateyourmusic)...

-Psychedelic/garage

-Traditional country

-Funk/hip hop

-Progressive metal

-Hip-hop/Latin/Dance/

-Third stream (apparently jazz + western classical music, TIL), experimental

-Techdeath, Deathcore

As for years, included upcoming music, the oldest years are 1956, 1961 and 1988. The other 11 albums are from 1989 or more recent.

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I was told I wouldn't need a signature...

Trollheart

As the point has been brought up, and in all seriousness, if anyone is getting a little overwhelmed here but still wants to participate, you can apply to become an associate member, which basically means you can talk about but not rate albums (well, you can if you want but the rating won't be considered in the album's overall tally when I get around to eventually adding these up) and you're not required to comment on every album, you can come and go as you please.

The only drawback with that is that you can't then suggest an album, ie you'll be removed from the list of active club members and will not have a place assigned you in the album queue.

Tristan, if you want to do this that's fine. Anyone else who wishes to, just let me know. If later you want to return to being a full member that's cool, again just let me know.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

The Batlord

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Trollheart

The Gris Gris s/t

Considering we tend to usually listen to very different music, I'm quite surprised at how much my experiences of some of these albums are dovetailing with those of Psy-Fi, and here again I'm in agreement with him. Unlike everyone else, who seem to love this album, I'm not really that impressed. I've spun it about 6-8 times now, and I think it's enough to form my opinion of it.

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
It was nice, kind of nearly shoegaze-y, very laidback and acoustic.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
I liked how it started, but it went through too many changes and in the end it kind of pissed me off. It's also too long in my opinion.

3. What did you think of the next track?
Didn't like that much at all.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions? (see note 1)
Most of the time I didn't like him. I found him very whiny, especially on "Winter weather"

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not? (see note 2)
Generally, mostly yes, but I didn't like the screechy, abrasive bits

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
Worse mostly

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
I didn't take too much notice really

8. Did you like the instrumental parts? (see note 3)
Some of them, yes, others no.

9. What did you think of the production?
You know me and production...

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
It's odd; I have heard of this before and I think it may have been recced to me, perhaps in “Love or Hate?” but when I looked at the track listing nothing seemed familiar, and when I listened to it, again, nothing rang a bell. Definitely heard Goofle speaking about them though.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
Generally no

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
I actually got to dislike it more each time I listened.


13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
“Raygun”, “Me queda um bejou” (apart from the ****ing screechy feedback!), “Mary #38” (though that began to grate after the fourth listen or so – whiny, y'see?)

14. And the one you liked least?
“Plain Vanilla”, “Necessary separation”, “Best regards” (way too long for what it is). “Winter weather”


15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated? (see note 4)
As a debut I guess it was good; just didn't impress me

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
No.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
Being one of Goofle's I think I might have expected better, but you never really know with him.

18. Did the album end well?

Not for me; I hate "Winter weather"

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
There's probably nothing I could say that would improve it. It just isn't for me.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
I found it very hit-and-miss; some of it was very good, some of it was terrible. Mostly it veered from annoying to boring and back. I don't hate it but my Meh is very much down the lower end of the scale. 3/10

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Oriphiel

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Goofle

That's a really good overview of the album. It's a 10/10 for me but I've had a lot of time to grow with it and make more of a connection. I see it as a perfect soundtrack for your inevitable death.

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innerspaceboy

The Gris Gris - The Gris Gris

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?
Neo-psych meets indie/garage… I’m looking forward to this.

2. What did you think of the opening track?
The mellow build was enjoyable. TechnicLePanther’s describing it as a slow boil was quite on point. I dig music which abandons the tired and trite ego of standard rock fare, and this record is quickly shaping up to be my cup of tea. And the opening reminded me very much of “Words” by Low, which is great in my book.

3. What did you think of the next track?
The Floydian influence is certainly evident, whether intended or not, and it’s not at all a bad thing. The indie flavor stirred into this psychedelic gumbo adds something novel to the work, (at least, for me).

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?
Ashley’s vocal performance is characteristically suitable for the genre. It’s nothing particularly remarkable, but it works well for its intended purpose. “Mary #38” was an instant favorite, and it took me a few minutes to connect the familiar melody in my memory but at last I arrived at the relation - the song bears a striking structural similarity to “Road to Peace” by Tom Waits from the Brawlers disc of the Orphans - Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards set.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?
The instrumentation is an excellent blend of vintage psych with 90s and early 2000s indie, and the result is impressively satisfying.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?
I continued to enjoy each new selection for the unique element it added to the whole. “Me Queda Um Bejou” was intriguing in its stripped-bare simplicity and its subtle instrumentation. Each instrument added something to the mix and I really found myself sinking into it.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?
I was less-focused on the lyrics themselves, instead letting my attention drift naturally from soloing instruments to percussion to bass lines following the gentle, ever-shifting focus of the record. I was more interested in the overall “feel” of the music, which seems appropriate for a psych LP.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?
Very much so. (See above)

9. What did you think of the production?
Both the performance and the production have a lackadaisical quality which function well for a psych album. I dig it.

10. Did you know of this artiste prior to listening to the album, and if so, did that foreknowledge colour your perception of this album?
No. First-ever listen.

11. Is this, generally, the kind of music you listen to or not?
I have only a few psych essentials in my library, but this is certainly something I would spin again in the future.

12. Assuming you listened to the album more than once, on repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?
I had to get to bed straight after the first listen.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?
I think this album functions better as a whole instead of as isolated tracks.

14. And the one you liked least?
N/A

15. If the album in question is a debut, did that fact allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?
This appears to be their first album, and I think they did a fantastic job with it.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing more from this artiste, if you have not heard any of their other material?
RYM suggests that their first effort was their strongest. As I don’t spin psych that often, I’d probably just stick with this LP.

17. Were you surprised by your reaction - positive or negative - to the album?
The opening minute of the record intrigued me, and the rest of the record didn’t let me down. Not exactly surprised, but delighted.

18. Did the album end well?
“Winter Weather” sounds like a very deliberate tribute to One Way Streets’ “We All Love Peanut Butter” from 1966. (Though I know the track best from the Ass Pony’s cover.) It never hurts to end with something familiar.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?
I like it just the way it is.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?
Its cohesiveness is one of the album’s greatest strengths. Definitely enjoyable from start to finish.

9/10

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