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""Grappling" is an excellent album whose complexity may discourage fans of smooth neo-prog but which should speak to all those who expect surprises from adventurous music."
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5/5
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The Tea Club, a group from New Jersey, is one of those groups that are starting to have a great experience. Formed in 2003, its first album, "General Winter's Secret Museum" was released five years later, then two years in two years his successors, "Rabbit" (2010) and "Quickly, Quickly" (2012) were released.
If the stability of the line-up is not the strength of The Tea Club (bass, keyboards and drums are newcomers), those of the compositions is ensured by the McGowan brothers at the controls since the beginning. Although stability may not be the most appropriate term, each album evolves in relation to its predecessor while maintaining a certain continuity.
"Grappling" picks up where "Quickly, Quickly" left us. The band, having lost none of their good habits, immerses us in their inventive and barred rock, a delightful mix of melodious tunes and surprising projections. Linearity is a word that is now banished from the McGowan brothers' vocabulary, as they multiply theme changes, tempo variations, intensity jumps while keeping a guideline to their pieces, never falling into the trap of effect for effect, each find intertwining with the whole to create an extra emotion.
The album can't be described, it can be listened to. The compositions, worked and complex, elusive, are difficult to identify and tame. Between splendid lyrical flights, sudden surges of dissonant or arrhythmic fever, the music goes from very dynamic moments dominated by an energetic drum set and a fast bass to calmer atmospheres, without ever losing intensity. The way each track is divided into sketches by a very expressive and theatrical music that alone tells a story, without it being necessary to put words on it, is reminiscent of the Genesis of "Foxtrot". Other palpable influences, the names of The Flower Kings, Yes, VDGG, Gentle Giant or King Crimson cross the mind depending on the passages. But it is undoubtedly Beardfish, whose whimsical character he seems to have inherited, that The Tea Club most closely resembles.
Nevertheless, these are far more reminiscences than just a copy, as Americans have their own personalities. This blend of character, originality and melodic sense makes "Grappling" an excellent album whose complexity may discourage fans of smooth neo-prog but which should speak to all those who expect surprises from adventurous music. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. The Magnet (06:07) 02. Remember Where You Were (07:43) 03. Dr. Abraham (08:11) 04. The Fox in the Hole (04:45) 05. Wasp in a Wig (06:16) 06. The White Book (09:57)
LINEUP:
Dan McGowan: Chant / Guitares / Claviers Jamie Wolff: Basse / Violon / Violoncelle Patrick McGowan: Chant / Guitares / Claviers Reinhardt Mcgeddon: Claviers Tony Davis: Batterie
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READERS
4.5/5 (2 view(s))
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STAFF:
4.2/5 (4 view(s))
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