Griddle

I got an e-mail last week or so from Kevin of Griddle, asking if he could send me a copy of their new album, Klimty Favela. I accepted, of course, because even if it was bad, a free CD is always a good deal. In the meantime, I read up on the band as I hadn’t heard of them before (they only have 55 listeners on last.fm so I wasn’t too ashamed of this fact). The quote that really piqued my interest is from their own page: “Our songs are strange, but catchy as the flu.” Expectation: strangely catchy songs.

Upon getting the CD, the press kit tucked within classified the music as “psychedelic rock.” Expectation: strangely catchy psych-rock songs.

Inevitably I actually played the CD, where the opening track, City Made Of Teeth, greeted me with guitar chords that reminded me of good power metal (yes, such a thing exists). Then it transformed into something resembling an indie-rock anthem, with one of the catchier choruses I’ve heard in a long while. My favorite track, Dr. Becky Bolanky, reminded me a lot of a John Vanderslice song, but that’s alright, because Griddle’s drummer drummed for his latest album. The only thing I didn’t like about this album was when it got more into psych than into rock, but that’s not the album’s fault; that’s my musically untrained mind’s fault. Regardless, those moments are relatively few and far between, and if you’re into psych, you’ll dig the sound. Since the album’s not released until August the 15th, all I can get you (legally!) from the new album is the video for Dr. Becky Bolanky. It is indeed the equivalent of musical flu.

From Klimty Favela