Review Summary: 3.3.
Grievance describe themselves as “a fluid collective of New England musicians” and cite “spoken word / ambient / instrumental” as their genre. All other information on the group is conjecture. For example: according to their Facebook, the bands likes and is presumably influenced by an eclectic mix of artists that includes Will James, My Heart To Joy, The Smiths, State Faults, Tears For Fears, and even, rummaging a little deeper into Grievance’s “likes,” black metal juggernaut Deathspell Omega and Massachusetts pop-punkers Transit.
It’s hard to reconcile this range of artists with Grievance’s limited sonic output, which began appearing sometime in September, and has recently, at the time of this writing, swelled to a total of 21 minutes with
Mulatto Noir. Perhaps it’s asking too much to believe that anyone can adequately mix Tears for Fears and Deathspell Omega into a spoken-word project, and maybe that’s what makes the initial listen a little underwhelming: one expects so much more from that description than what the members of Grievance can deliver. Actually, I’ll say right now that
Mulatto Noir could be the work of one as easily as that of a “collective”: two, at most, given the starkly different vocal elements on this and
Graveyard Whits, the group’s debut.
Also, unless the Jokerish figure on the cover of
Graveyard Whits is a photograph of an actual member (or
the sole member) of Grievance, no other names or photographs are attached to the group. In this aspect, at least, they seems to draw a bit from Deathspell Omega and another left-field influence “liked” by the page in the Weeknd, but it seems a stretch to even use the word “influence.” It’s a cute gimmick but it's helped in no way by Grievance’s obsessively black-and-white imagery. Here's hoping they'll drop it soon because, like, come on.
Mulatto Noir?
So, it may look as if there’s nothing to like about Grievance, after all. They’re ambitious, dour, and pretentious. But in spite of all that, and barring its questionable title and majorly DIY production, there’s potential in
Mulatto Noir. From the creepy plod of opener “The Donner Turnpike” alone, Grievance excel in at least one area: atmosphere. Whether it’s the rising tension in the latter half of stand-out “The Noise” or the spacey dissonance of “The Model,” Grievance seems to know exactly what mood they mean to convey, and structure the music accordingly. And no matter how elementary the playing, consisting of one or possibly two guitars, often heavily processed, Grievance’s overarching vision is intermittently effective.
On
Graveyard Whits, the vocals are delivered in a strident shout, taking precedence over muted instrumentals. That’s not the case here, but from the whispering of “The Model” to the screams of “Seraph Cicada,” coincidentally Grievance’s most conventional “song,” what the vocals gain in variety they lose a bit in sheer emotion. At worst, the screaming only sounds untrained; at best, as in the midsection of “Seraph Cicada” or the end of “Jung Again,” they hold the track together, smoothing over awkward transitions or faulty playing. And, as a bonus, the lyrics of this self-proclaimed spoken-word group are not entirely cringeworthy. So that’s a relief.
Is Grievance worth your time? If thirteen minutes of spoken-word poetry over atmospheric guitarwork doesn’t sound like a horribly boring listen, sure. Even if it does,
Mulatto Noir isn’t the worst thing I’ve heard out of this weird niche, and it probably won’t be for you, either.
