Calliope Music Review of the Week
Geordie Greep - The New Sound
Vulgar Parade of Ravishing Insecurity
black midi lead singer, Geordie Greep debuts his own collection of Avant-Prog, reeling with Jazzy details and Latin influence. A magnificently dense and sundry sound tinkers away in grandiose progressions, blaring with brazen brass and spiraling bass lines. Rolling acoustics encounters festive shakers and clever keys, salsa-dancing alongside a Fusion embed of electric guitar, organ, and pattering drums. Large-scale string arrangements swoop from above, accompanying canopy vocals, sharp synthesizers, and fretless bass declarations. It is clear that the intention of The New Sound was for more: more rhythm, more movement, more sound.
This proclamation of density is profound, creating a distinctive texture as the record proceeds through dance-worthy tango tunes, dramatic piano/string ballads, and weighty Progressive Rock disruptions. The height of the record is when these concepts align side by side, flourishing in each of their distinct embellishments. However, such a bulk of ideas can overstate itself, at times being too busy for aspiring maneuvers to stay tight across transitions.
Such is the nature of the 62-minute album to overwhelm. Greep himself attaches a bellowing voice to most tracks, embracing drama with rip-roaring belts and racing verse. Often the peak of spectacle, Greep's vocals even see themselves overwhelmed during the largest climaxes, speaking "until his voice becomes sand" in rupturing instrumentals.
As with its sonic mass, the record also holds tight to the theme of toxic masculinity. A disturbing character is formed, indulgent in prostitution, STI-ridden-love affairs, egoism, mid-life crisis, and even genocide. Impressive eccentrics and psychotic imagery paint the picture of a truly horrifying individual, masking his insecurities through delusions of grandeur; a most disgusting modern Don Quixote. While the character is expertly performed, its fantasies are far too accentuated to take very seriously. The only track to truly complete the nuance of such a character is 'The Magician,' where the man is forced to confront reality as he realizes his love affair with a prostitute has brought him no real happiness. More moments like this would help establish the character as a wild portrayal of a real phenomenon, rather than an ill cartoon.
In the end, Geordie Greep displays an incredible ambition on The New Sound, one that he achieves the vast majority of the time. Aside from a few overly sporadic instances and a protagonist lacking more desirable nuance, the album is a stunner. Modulated Jazz-Rock, concentrated theatrics, and a beautiful complexity obtain wondrous highs; a vulgar parade of ravishing insecurity.
Best Tracks: Holy, Holy -- Motorbike -- As If Waltz -- The Magician
8.5/10
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