Grooms
Death by Audio
(2009)
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Lyrical and musical non sequiturs make up the aesthetic of Brooklyn’s Grooms, whose guitars and drums sound unhinged in the way they seem to twist and break with each song. Sure, their song titles are often silly (“She-Bears,” “Ghost Cat,” “Acid King of Hell”), but the adjoining music is somber and amorphous, like an angsty teenager who hasn’t figured out his identity. The atonal song structures and weird noises bring to mind the post-punk cool of early Sonic Youth, who liked their music frequently loud and sometimes abrasive. Grooms are meant to be heard in-person, their music best suited for the ear-popping magnitude of several on-stage amps. Songs begin with a minor refrain or two that reflects the caustic instrumentation, but the band seems most comfortable emoting by noise over words. The band frequently turns to lyric-less singing, whether it be ghostly chants or melodic doo doo doo’s. What they lack in lyrical wit they compensate with the sheer volume of apocalyptic static, unhinged guitars and heavy drum breaks. “At the Pool” sounds like a tribal dance of atavistic robots, although melodious guitar chords provide occasional moments of clarity. In “Ghost Cat,” the band stretches out their sound with heavy climaxes of guitar and drums. It’s difficult to isolate each song and remember it on its own terms. The Grooms seem to feel their way through the music, which gives it its asymmetrical and improvised quality. Sometimes the record can sound claustrophobic, but the moments of catchy pop pull the songs back from being entirely inaccessible.

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http://www.myspace.com/groomsmusic

http://groomsmusic.blogspot.com/

via Abe Ahn, 18 October 2009 6:28pm | |