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Nov 15, 2024 Web Exclusive By Scotty Dransfield

Geordie Greep is a bridge-builder for omnivorous music nerds everywhere, making it acceptable to love both King Crimson and Steely Dan. His first solo album post his band black midi draws equally from the instrumental-wizard prog of the former and the uncool, sophisticated pervert perspective of the latter.

If that’s not enough, The New Sound is also chock-full of salsa diversions and exhaustive tirades from the points of view of demanding, empty men. As a whole, it’s a big, brash, idiosyncratic explosion of an album that’s really only a few lateral steps away from Greep’s former band.

The New Sound is a logical distillation of black midi’s brand of off-putting genius. It may not satisfy folks looking for the fiery noise-rock of Schlagenheim, and it certainly won’t win over anyone who couldn’t connect to that band over their three-album career. But for anyone who enjoyed the sort of snobbish throwback charms of “Marlene Dietrich” or “Ascending Forth,” both from their sophomore album Cavalcade, this album is a godsend.

Greep has leaned into his character-building and storytelling strengths, almost to a fault. First single “Holy, Holy” punctures a man’s ego solely by documenting his desires, evolving from “You are new, I’ll have you too / It’s time to give in,” to the heartbreaking “I want you to put your hand on my knee / Would that be alright?” The lyrical change is emphasized by an arrangement that begins mechanical and loud and ends in a harp-laden swirl of harmony and horns.

At over an hour in runtime, though, The New Sound can be a marathon of a listen, especially when most of the songs are exuberant, layered, and long. And in contrast with all the diverse instrumentation and influence from so many genres, the album sports a glaring weakness — lyrical invariability. “As If Waltz,” one of the best tunes on the album, is beautiful and wistful; if only its storytelling didn’t repeat the motifs of several songs earlier in the tracklist. Greep is perceptive and extremely skilled at portraying the weakening structures of traditional masculinity, but struggles to build characters with different emotional centers. Perhaps, at 25, he doesn’t yet have enough experience to be able to sing about any emotion not curdled by anxiety or apprehension.

The New Sound shows itself off with a lot of bluster and impressive arrangement, but eventually reveals itself to be just as crumpled and insecure as the protagonists of its songs. At least the compositions are exquisite. (www.geordiegreep.com)

Author rating: 7/10