Joanna Gruesome- Peanut Butter Review

 

Joanna Gruesome

Peanut Butter

Slumberland Records

When listening to Joanna Gruesome I am reminded of a litany of bands none of which are Joanna Newsome. Bands like Los Campesinos! who Joanna Gruesome share the hometown of Cardiff, Wales with as well as Perfect Pussy, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and even Broken Social Scene. Unfortunately on “Peanut Butter” Joanna Gruesome sound so similar to their influences that it inhibits their ability to create any sort of original sound themselves. It was hard to feel like I was listening to a Joanna Gruesome album when many songs employed techniques or sounds that are done better by other bands or sound just a bit dated. Too often I was reminded of other acts during "Peanut Butter". I found myself constantly thinking "Oh this track sounds like..." instead of feeling like this was a new listening experience.

Joanna Gruesome employ a noise pop sound mixed with punk aesthetic. No songs on “Peanut Butter” even reach the three minute mark. Constantly balancing the line between noise and melody the band attempts to write loud but catchy tunes. All over this album Alana McArdale and Owen Williams harmonize very beautifully. My complaint is that when riding either side of this line the band sounds too much like its predecessors. “Peanut Butter” has a bit of a dated sound to it in 2015 seeming to fit in better with the rise of indie that characterized the mid 2000s. This album has issues of originality as well as distinguishing itself on a track by track basis. Too many tracks are filled with driving guitars followed by McArdale’s distorted, shouting, and desperate vocal delivery with harmony sprinkled in between. “Peanut Butter” is hardly versatile, but seemingly tries to be. The album is not relentlessly pounding like “I Have Lost all Desire for Feeling” or filled with the pop hooks of “Romance is Boring”. Rather “Peanut Butter” feels lost and directionless trying to fall somewhere between these two records. 

On tracks like “Honestly Do Your Worst” Joanna Gruesome employ the same vocal effects that Meredith Graves uses on most of her songs. Even Alana McArdale’s delivery and breath control on this track is shockingly similar to Graves on the track “II”. “Psykick Espionage” falls into this same plague. However, Joanna Grueome do write some good tracks on this album that I did really enjoy. The song “Crayon” is excellent because the band is not going for one of the two sounds it typically employs, rather it blends the two to create a nice melodic yet powerful and fuzzy track.  The album also ends with “Hey I Want to be Your Best Friend” which is the slowest track on the album and filled with endearing lyrics. 

Joanna Gruesome strikes me as a band still experimenting with its sound. This album has tracks that prove the band does not have to sound like a second rate Los Campesinos! or Perfect Pussy if they blend these two sounds effectively. These songs seem to flip a switch between melody and noise, but the songs sound best when the band attempts to blend the two for a more cohesive output. An approach with more direction could really be something spectacular, but right now the band’s material is rather forgettable.

4/10

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Tom K. 

5/26/2015