Atlanta based Gringo Star carries a unique sound of lo-fi indie rock, infusing their songs with influences from older genres. In their latest album, they continue this mentality giving us a musically diverse set of songs that hark back to the bubbly 50’s rock, melodically memorizing 70’s psychedelic, and rough and tumble spaghetti western sound like they’re straight out of the movies. The Sides and In Between open with ‘Rotten’, a gruff grungy garage rock sound, that carries itself with messy energy as guitars reverb under the caustic voice of the leader singer harping lyrics. Melodies lighten and bubble up as we continue, peaking at ‘Going Home’ which mixes peppy whistling with echoing bird calls that fall into the background. ‘Knee Deep’ flows like silk with the long droning buzz of the singers voice, who cranks out the lyrics like a drunken slur which fits perfectly into the soft integrations of sitar to fit the western sound the song seeps into you. The entire album reeks with fusion of the old and new, always keeping ideas concentrated in short songs, but weaving a quarky lo-fi grunge rock sound.
Recommended If You Like: Foxygen, Sunset Rubdown, Smith and Westerns, The Black Keys, Alexander Ebert
Recommended Tracks: 1 (Rotten), 8 (Undone), 6 (Knee Deep)
Do Not Play: None
Written by John Truong on 09/15/2016
