I honestly don’t think I’ll ever know why but somehow I have acquired the nickname Gary in one of my friend groups. Who am I to question a nickname as silly as it may sound. As soon as I got an email about The Gary’s new EP ‘Fallow’, I just knew I had to check it out so let’s blindly jump into this brand new EP!
“Ordinary People” kicks this EP off with a super cool guitar and bass part before the drums come shuffling in. The vocals come in at almost a minute in with an almost Spanish Love Songs style to them. The voice is darker than expected but it’s not unnatural darkness. The deepness of the vocals clashes oh so well with the brighter instrumentation creating a super unique sound and feel. not quite indie, not quick rock- The Gary has situated themselves in this sort of grey area genre-wise with this opening track and it has me super intrigued to see what else this EP will bring.
There’s something a bit somber about “Info”. Although there are hints to the super intriguing guitar and a bass line that kicked off “Ordinary People”, there’s something completely new about this track. The vocals fit a little bit better in this track and the sound settles into the alt-rock genre nicely while still being super unique. The vocals have an almost spoken-word aspect to them throughout this track that I found super interesting. It may not be quite my thing but I love the creativity that this track brings to the table while still proving just how unique The Gary can be.
The amount of power that “Fallow Fields” kicks off with was almost a shock but a welcomed one. This was an instant favorite of mine just due to that power. The vocals still feel dark and deep but the style splits the difference between a standard song vibe and a spoken-word feel. I feel like this is the first track where you really get a feel for the versatility behind the vocals and it really made me see this band in a new light. Sadly, this is the shortest track on the album and I was almost disappointed as the album moved onto “Radical Prostate” but the dramatic opening of this track kept me optimistic. A little artsier as far as the instrumentation goes, this track had me stuck in the palm of The Gary’s hand throughout it. There was just so much interesting material in the instrumentation that I found myself lost and just trying to catch it all. With no vocals, “Radical Prostate” really gives you a chance to notice the pure talent behind all of the players in The Gary along with their creativity.
“The Season Consumed Me” brings a spacier vibe to the table and brings back the almost somber feeling of “Info” with a sense of vengeance. Slow and steady is the name of the game on this track and that seems to add to the power of this song. There’s even a strange almost psychedelic feeling in this track that I can’t quite put my finger on. Really, this song is all over the place stylistically while being something that only The Gary could have come up with.
Ending this six-song EP is “Unconfirmed, Undenied” which feels like the most commercial track on the album. It just has this sense of mass appeal in it while, again, being super distinctly that of The Gary. I really enjoyed this song from top to bottom. The lyrics, the guitar work, the drums, the bass– they are all played with such a sense of emotion making this track a powerful ending to a super interesting release.
I’ll probably never understand why my friends have deemed me “Gary” but I know that I’m in good company with sharing my name with this super innovative and powerful band.
My Favorite Track(s): “Fallow Fields”
For Fans Of: Genre-bending innovation; Power
Mosh-ability: 3 out of 10
What My Cats Thought Of It: Both cats slept upstairs
How Badly I Want To See This Performed Live: 5 out of 10
My Overall Rating: 6 out of 10
Check Out The Gary Here:
Shameless Self Promotion- Donate Here To Keep This Blog Alive!
Check Out My New Playlist With All of My Favorite Songs HERE!
Leave a Reply