Review Summary: Drowning in the sunset
Gryff is a pop act hailing from Perth, Australia, and it sure as hell sounds like it. Reminiscent of the coastal city down under it originates from, Gryff’s debut EP lives for the summertime. Each of the 4 tracks on here are straightforward pop earworms that takes after synthpop quite a bit, but is mostly inspired by unrestrained ‘80s nostalgia. No other track uses these qualities to their advantage quite as well as “Dive/Argentina”, which is filled with everything that makes a great summer banger: a bright, glimmering guitar riff, tropical synths, some nice sax thrown in the second half for good measure, and wonderful songwriting that brings two killer hooks to the table to wrap it all in a neon bow. Even the on the nose lyricism, while it may result in some incredibly cliché moments, adds a bit to the summer sentiment that
Feel the Night tries to convey. The opener “Halcyon” carries a similar lyrical vibe that makes yet another coastline anthem thanks to a notably thick bassline and some upfront synths. In general, the quality on this EP stays considerably consistent and never fails to deliver a track that at least has some merit to being on the record.
As summer gets closer and closer, an influx of albums capitalizing on the season are becoming more and more numerous,
Feel the Night being one of them. However, if that was the intention behind the record, then it succeeds effortlessly. The combination of fun, bright production and sharp choruses that bring the kind of fun that can usually only be experienced on the hottest of beaches and the bluest of oceans proves to be a winning formula for Gryff. If you’re one to believe that music doesn’t always need to have deep meaning behind every word and can just exist to help you have a good time, then
Feel the Night is right down your alley.
