the great pumpkin

Grass Widow have released two 12″s with in a matter of months.  Their self titled record on Make A Mess was one of those albums that I looked for for ever, but had no luck.  The first pressing of the LP went out of print very quickly, and even though I tried calling record stores in other parts of the country trying to mail order it I had no luck.  From what I understand the remaining copies of this LP floating around at your local shop are from the second pressing…that appears to be going out of print as fast as the first. It was a nice surprise walking into Permanent Records, and seeing this one up on the wall long after I had given up on it.

Girl pop seems to be king, or queen in this case, and these days there is no shortage of all girl bands…but there are three that I feel are a step above the rest, and Grass Widow is one of those.

Their debut full length on Make A Mess channels a more powerful force, at least for me. In the depths of their music I can feel the faintest hints of Beat Happening.  One might think that this would be a hard thing to pull out of their music being that they are an all girl band, and that one of the corner stones of Beat Happening is Calvin Johnson’s baritone voice, but it is more the subtleties in the music more than a direct comparison that brings this to mind….a vocal cadence or part of a drum beat.  It’s not necessary to see this, but it’s something I pick up on…and in the end anything that reminds me of Beat Happening tends to be a winner with me.

I feel that Grass Widow emphasis this on “Celebrate the Mundane” the second track off the Make A Mess full length.  Even at first listen Grass Widow are clearly different than their contemporaries in the way that they utilize every member of the band.  All three of the women in Grass Widow contribute to the vocals, and it is not just on choruses but at times all three of them are simultaneously singing different lyrics….creating harmonies that at first don’t seem possible.  This combination of lyrics, vocals, cadence, and harmony are where I truly see the connections I alluded to above, but occasionally in the beat as well.

[mp3] Grass Widow- “Celebrate the Mundane”

Grass Widow bring in the the horns later on in the LP, and overall have created a truly beautiful post-twee record. Extremely impressive as a debut LP, and one that has been spinning on the turntable and headphones for weeks. It’s looking like this is another one in my year end list as well.

Buy Grass Widow’s Self Titled album here.

A couple Sundays ago Grass Widow jumped on the bill for the Tom Tom Magazine launch party at Bruar Falls.  Grass Widow had been playing shows all weekend, but I didn’t quite make it to any of them, and when I heard this show was at Bruar Falls I couldn’t not go.  If you the Great Pumpkin you already know this, but Bruar Falls just happens to be my favorite venue right now…so the location was perfect.

I got to Bruar Falls about 20 minutes before Grass Widow went on, and the place was totally packed.  It seemed like more people were there for the magazine than the music (this was made clear by how many people just talked through the bands sets), but I guess that could be expected.  I was a little surprised by the music that was being played between sets…after all Tom Tom Magazine is a magazine about female drummers, but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t an actual drum set used in any of the dance/hip hop music that was being played (I guess a party atmosphere was the desired effect)….just thought this was odd and worth mentioning.

By time Grass Widow took the stage I was really ready to hear the music that I came for, and these ladies brought it.  With songs like “Celebrate the Mundane” and “To Where” it can be hard for a band to pull it off live, but Grass Widow were well practiced and sounded great even on what I assume, due to the distance they traveled without a full tour, was borrowed equipment.  It’s really impressive that all three of their vocals can be so tight in a live setting.  I was able to capture some of this on video, and I am now happy to share it with you.

Grass Widow- “Lulu’s Lips”

[mp3] Grass Widow- “Lulu’s Lips” off of the Captured Tracks 12″.  Buy it here.

While reviewing my recordings I realized that I didn’t know three of the tracks I taped.  I emailed Grass Widow, and Hannah was kind enough to help me identify them.

Hannah informed me that the three tracks are from their yet to be recorded album for Slumberland Records!  Grass Widow will be hitting the studio in January, and these three tracks, and many others, will be put to tape.  Enjoy:

Grass Widow- “Give Me Shapes”

Grass Widow- “Landscape”

Grass Widow- “Uncertain Memory”

Thanks to Hannah, and the rest of Grass Widow, for identifying these songs for me.  I’m really looking forward to the new record, and to your return to New York!

Links:

• Buy Grass Widow releases here.
• Grass Widows website/myspace
• more on Slumberland Records here.
• more on Captured Tracks Records here.
• more on Permanent Records here.
• more gprecs videos here.
• more This Week In Mail Order here.

Tags: Bruar Falls, Captured Tracks, Grass Widow, LP, mail order, Make A Mess Records, Permanent Records, Slumberland Records, Tom Tom Magazine, unreleased, video