Customer Reviews

Gravity Won't Get You High

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Minimal Power pop, a great lead singer, catchy, abrasive songs and this is as good as it gets so far this year. Without the slickness of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or the pretention, the Grates power their way through 14 songs with a Fountain of Wayne style pop sonic intensity and a bitter sweetness tinged with sexy we often hear in LA born girl lead bands. The Grates do it better however.

This album rocks.

I caught this band at the recent Noise Pop festival in San Francisco. They opened for the Dirtbombs and they were one of the surprises of that whole week. The Grates are a band from Australia. They have been compared to Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They are probably more like some girl groups from the Pacific Northwest. They start out with the ballad "I Won't Survive." This band has a sense of humor. "Lies" is more like the energetic crazy style. "19 20 20" and "Howl" are pure punk garage rock. This is them at their best. One of the best songs is "Silence Is Golden." Another ballad is "Nothing Sir" and it sounds a little like Regina Spektor. I also like "Seek Me" a lot. There are a lot of songs on this album, but it seems brief. The Grates are a new band that has promise. I look forward on their next tour.

Fuzzy Wuzzy's Summary:
***** Highly recommended with warm fuzzies!

I love this CD, which was my introduction to the Grates. I would love to see them live. I love the energy, spunk, and attitude in the lyrics and bratty pouty singing. I hear resemblances to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Revillos/Rezillos, Magnapop, The Muffs, some others I can't quite put a finger on... along with their own unique fingerprint. After you hear all of their songs, check out their Web site at thegrates.com, which is a real hoot and has the same quirkiness as their songs. They even have a Grates video game on their site, which plays tunes from their songs as bleepy 1970s-styled Atari video arcade sound effects; you navigate through a maze while collecting prizes like a vintage Pac-Man game.

"There would have to be an influence somewhere.." This is what a buddy of mine was saying when I was referring to bands like Giant Drag and The Grates. I don't think there's a lack of originality in music today, I just think there is alot of influence surfacing from a sound that originated back in the early 90's. Big, full, crunchy guitar and double girly vocals. I fell in love with Juliana Hatfield's sound back in the 90's and I haven't gotten over the bratty sing-song lyrics, a voice that could be mistaken for a little girls and a contradiction to this like heavy bass chords. "Seek Me" is my favorite song so far by The Grates and is reminiscent of the previous sentence. Listen to it and see if it doesn't stick with you and just try to keep from skipping around...

This is the best punk pop that you are ever going to hear. Aw Yeah. The drummer is great, too.

First off I love the Grates...I love the Lyrics, I love Paitence's bouncy rebel edgy voice...however if you are considering buying "Gravity" buy the Aussie Import. This CD was recorded in CALI and lacks the edge on some of the first recordings offered from down under. One main song that isn't as good as the first recorded version is 'Feels Like Pain' and 'Science is Golden' sooo just buy both versions..because Little people is much better on the state side.