There is a danger for me that being so caught up in the new, that I lose focus on the great legacy acts. The sort of bands that produce wonderful album after album and yet become ignored as you search for something new and shiny.
Fortunately, my love of Psych Pop doesn't allow this to happen as much. The best are still at times, miles apart from the rest and I would certainly include The Grip Weeds in that category. They master the genre and yet easily adapt to other sounds.
Soul Bender is the band's ninth album in a recording career well into its fourth decade. It is their first new material in 7 years and they still have the capacity to surprise. Impeccably produced and performed, the whole album dazzles and the surprises resonate even more.
Kristin Pinell is a fantastic guitarist, but there is something special about her taking on the vocal on the West Coast, almost Country, Rock of Promise (Of The Real) that still manages a killer Pop Rock chorus. Conquer And Divide gets all Classic Rock, a little Jethro Tull (without the flute), early Blue Oyster Cult even. It is a real rock out.
Someone In Love even enters AOR Territory and Pinell even takes on 60s big studio Girl Pop on If You Were Here. Wake Up Time is a wonderful all together now lighters out closer. But as ever with The Grip Weeds, it is the Psych Pop that always grips me most.
Gene Clark (Broken Wing), still a great single, Flowers For Cynthia and the title track are the best examples of this, but in fairness the whole album is a crackerjack. The sound of a band that knows exactly what it is doing and manages to deliver five stars every time. Top Notch!
You can listen to the album here. You can buy the album on Vinyl, CD or as a download here where this also a Deluxe Edition 2 CD version with tons of extras.
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