Review Summary: Gathering the best material and motifs from their previous EPs and Demo, CHON sound fresh and wield their unique sound to admirable extents.
If you marginally enjoyed any of CHON's output and experienced any trepidation upon hearing of CHON's signing to Sumerian to put out a debut LP, you can rest easy.
Grow shatters all expectations and stands head and shoulders above the rest of their discography.
Grow plays much like a "Best of..." from the young group's work over the last seven years. Despite the numerous releases in the interim, the group made enough successes and mistakes in order to refine their sound in the best ways possible.
One of the primary critiques of
Grow is the recycling of existent material across their discography. Whilst thinking about it may elicit negative connotations, in reality, the tracks barely sound recycled due to the overall homogenous sound of the record. The group seemingly handpicked the material from previous records with intent - the atmosphere of the record remains positive, laid-back, and accessible throughout the entirety of the run time.
Despite the accessible sound, however, the technical instrumentation and production value are outstanding. The guitars, bass, and keys weave complex tapestries throughout each other’s sonic spectra, complementing where necessary and deviating wherever an auxiliary melodic component augments the overall mood. As a result, the sound is full, rich, and uncomplicated. The perfect example of this can be found on
"Can't Wait" one of two tracks to feature vocals. The lyrics are largely forgettable, and thankfully, only surface again on
”Echo”.
As mentioned above, the production value is fantastic. Whereas previous releases struggled with tones and mixing,
Grow has no such issues. The guitar, bass, and drums occupy complementary spaces in the mix and rarely detract from each other's presence.
The most tasteful aspect of the output, in my opinion, is the pure and natural sound of the music in itself. The group clearly understands and adores analogue sensibilities. Whereas their contemporaries Sithu Aye and Polyphia often use electronic elements to supplant the music, CHON completely ignore and avoid any such elements. As a result, the album sounds and
feels as if it is being performed right in front of you, for you. This ability to take advantage of the space within the tracks allows for immediate self-reflection and listener’s absorption into the motifs of the music.
I had nearly lost hope for CHON after
Woohoo!, an album I struggled to sit through due to the tweedly nature of the recording. With each release, I started noticing more of an affinity for pointless leads that didn’t complement the music. This is indeed a trend that plagues nearly all modern instrumental bands. However, CHON really outdid themselves by focusing on the groove and flow of the music, which are exemplary and superior to others in the genre.
Grow not only shows a maturing group of musicians, but also hints at the things to come. If there’s one thing that’s indubitably clear is that the guys love playing music together and enjoy bringing their audience a little taste of the Cali sunshine.
For fans of their
2008 Demo and
Newborn Sun, there will be few surprises here and more than enough nostalgia to sit back and think about the world a little more positively, even if for a little while.
