Every now and again whilst wading through the fruitful pastures of new music, an EP comes along that makes you pause and smell the foliage. Songs that hit you with a sense of intrigue and that feeling that you’ve stumbled upon something you didn’t know you were looking for. Today, Groves are that band.
Throwing snarling, urgent noise rock at the wall and taking Instagram photos of its descent to the carpet, Groves sound is (as you may gather) hard to dismiss as any familiar genre. Throughout this EP’s six tracks the only real comparison that comes to mind is Drive Like Jehu in their rawest demo form, laced with the controlled chaos of Slint and early Sonic Youth. However, therein lies one of Groves greatest strengths; in an ocean of beards and neck tattoos vs permed fringes and skin tight jeans, Groves offer a chaotic iceberg of noise, passion and doing what they fucking want to do. Its visceral, exiting, confusing and you’ll love every second without ever questioning why. Music should always be this easy to lose yourself to.
The EP begins as it means to continue with brooding guitar feedback offering a false sense of security before a barrage of scrappy, strangled noise breaks its restraints and ‘Forests’ takes flight. The track takes a lead from the old Pixies trademark of loud/QUIET/loud and switches back and forth between ravaged peaks of sound and lingering valleys ringing notes as the vocals follow suit offering a noise rock drawl that breaks in to a tortured yell. A storm of crashing symbols and dissonant guitar rounds off the track as we dive headlong towards ‘In The Snow’ and the feeling that we’re not in Kansas anymore begins to take hold.
Limiting the use of guitar to choice strains and yelps allows the gritty, deviant bass to drive the track in to a filthy decent, ripping from quiet almost ambient flourishes to grating guitar drone and the EP’s first great RIFF with no regard for convention in sight. Pained vocals repeatedly sneer “I waited in the cold” as it becomes apparent that this band weaves their stories through noise rather than lyrical acrobatics but that only serves to elevate rather than devalue their aesthetic. You just couldn’t imagine this type of aural assault with the wistful linguistics of say, Morrissey or Jordan Dreyer (La Dispute) which is why the deceptively simple lyrics serve to empower the tracks with an urgency and familiarity that smooth’s the passage in to completely losing yourself in the bands power.
The direct lyrical style is put to excellent use on next track and EP highlight ‘Fingertips’. A short, dissonant yet somehow melodic track, ‘Fingertips’ takes all that Groves do well and moulds it in to a three minutes fifteen showcase for potential interested parties. Whipping up crashing waves of distressed guitar noise and washing it away with reflective post rock down-time, this is Groves showing you exactly why they deserve your ears.
The EP then throws up another left turn with the ambient break ‘My Stupid Brain’. Taken alone the track is a serviceable, short diversion but in the context of the EP it works wonderfully. It’s the moment you come up from beneath the water for air or stop your morning jog for a long, deep exhale, it’s the pause you need to take in all the information presented and prepare to dive back in. The moment of clarity works perfectly to set up the closing punches of ‘Waiting’ and ‘Crooked Casket/Houses’.
Everything that’s come before is once again put to compelling use as ‘Waiting’ offers a slightly more defined sense of structure with a great rolling riff laying the foundation for an unrelenting trade off of guitar and bass sections before breaking down in to a Helmet-esque bouncy riff breakdown with a darker edge than Page Hamilton and co ever feared to flirt with.
All that’s left is for the albums longest track ‘Crooked Casket/Houses’ and Groves are determined to leave you in no doubt that they intend to make a lasting impression. Containing the EPs perhaps most mutilated and heavy noise sections languishing alongside the EPs most melodic and tuneful soundscapes, this is the track those familiar with the band will surely most desire getting an outing during the live shows. It’s an ugly yet beautiful, unnerving yet inviting journey through a twisted yet focused dark mind and perfectly sums up the EP as a whole.
It’s not pretty but it is pretty special, Groves EP deserves your attention and your open mind. Available now from http://grovestheband.bandcamp.com/album/tape
Grayham Rogers
Throwing snarling, urgent noise rock at the wall and taking Instagram photos of its descent to the carpet, Groves sound is (as you may gather) hard to dismiss as any familiar genre. Throughout this EP’s six tracks the only real comparison that comes to mind is Drive Like Jehu in their rawest demo form, laced with the controlled chaos of Slint and early Sonic Youth. However, therein lies one of Groves greatest strengths; in an ocean of beards and neck tattoos vs permed fringes and skin tight jeans, Groves offer a chaotic iceberg of noise, passion and doing what they fucking want to do. Its visceral, exiting, confusing and you’ll love every second without ever questioning why. Music should always be this easy to lose yourself to.
The EP begins as it means to continue with brooding guitar feedback offering a false sense of security before a barrage of scrappy, strangled noise breaks its restraints and ‘Forests’ takes flight. The track takes a lead from the old Pixies trademark of loud/QUIET/loud and switches back and forth between ravaged peaks of sound and lingering valleys ringing notes as the vocals follow suit offering a noise rock drawl that breaks in to a tortured yell. A storm of crashing symbols and dissonant guitar rounds off the track as we dive headlong towards ‘In The Snow’ and the feeling that we’re not in Kansas anymore begins to take hold.
Limiting the use of guitar to choice strains and yelps allows the gritty, deviant bass to drive the track in to a filthy decent, ripping from quiet almost ambient flourishes to grating guitar drone and the EP’s first great RIFF with no regard for convention in sight. Pained vocals repeatedly sneer “I waited in the cold” as it becomes apparent that this band weaves their stories through noise rather than lyrical acrobatics but that only serves to elevate rather than devalue their aesthetic. You just couldn’t imagine this type of aural assault with the wistful linguistics of say, Morrissey or Jordan Dreyer (La Dispute) which is why the deceptively simple lyrics serve to empower the tracks with an urgency and familiarity that smooth’s the passage in to completely losing yourself in the bands power.
The direct lyrical style is put to excellent use on next track and EP highlight ‘Fingertips’. A short, dissonant yet somehow melodic track, ‘Fingertips’ takes all that Groves do well and moulds it in to a three minutes fifteen showcase for potential interested parties. Whipping up crashing waves of distressed guitar noise and washing it away with reflective post rock down-time, this is Groves showing you exactly why they deserve your ears.
The EP then throws up another left turn with the ambient break ‘My Stupid Brain’. Taken alone the track is a serviceable, short diversion but in the context of the EP it works wonderfully. It’s the moment you come up from beneath the water for air or stop your morning jog for a long, deep exhale, it’s the pause you need to take in all the information presented and prepare to dive back in. The moment of clarity works perfectly to set up the closing punches of ‘Waiting’ and ‘Crooked Casket/Houses’.
Everything that’s come before is once again put to compelling use as ‘Waiting’ offers a slightly more defined sense of structure with a great rolling riff laying the foundation for an unrelenting trade off of guitar and bass sections before breaking down in to a Helmet-esque bouncy riff breakdown with a darker edge than Page Hamilton and co ever feared to flirt with.
All that’s left is for the albums longest track ‘Crooked Casket/Houses’ and Groves are determined to leave you in no doubt that they intend to make a lasting impression. Containing the EPs perhaps most mutilated and heavy noise sections languishing alongside the EPs most melodic and tuneful soundscapes, this is the track those familiar with the band will surely most desire getting an outing during the live shows. It’s an ugly yet beautiful, unnerving yet inviting journey through a twisted yet focused dark mind and perfectly sums up the EP as a whole.
It’s not pretty but it is pretty special, Groves EP deserves your attention and your open mind. Available now from http://grovestheband.bandcamp.com/album/tape
Grayham Rogers