hedonisticcondition

[hedonisticcondition]

Album Review: Natural Affair

The Growlers have done it again: created a unique album still true to their signature sound on Natural Affair, released October 25th. 

Pulp of Youth entered my life at a moment I’d consider most uncanny. 

It was just past five in the morning, and I was on an express train back to London from Reading. My dress, all too short, was riding uncomfortably up my thigh, my once perfect eyeliner was melting off my face, and the only thing on my mind was the slowly lightening sky. 

I turned up the music and rested my head against the window, a bittersweet smile spreading across my face as the chorus hit. 

“Glasses raised again/ Drink to the pulp of youth/ ‘Til our time is due/ I’ll be on the vine with you/ As it was in the pulp of youth.” 

Needless to say, it resonated with me, a theme song for a hectic night that hadn’t really gone wrong, but hadn’t gone quite right, either. This, I thought to myself, is youth. 

Their music isn’t hard to relate to. Lead singer Brooks Neilsen often addresses the listener directly, taking for example Try Hard Fool’s, “Nobody said it would be easy/ But if it was, you wouldn’t want it, anyways/ It’s just a game, though, you ain’t no child/ You gotta cry every once in a while”. 

The band-- made up of the aforementioned Brooks Neilsen, lead guitarist Matt Taylor, and keyboarder-guitarist Kyle Straka-- prioritise coming of age, and the power of raw, unfiltered love in an unexpectedly old fashioned way. Neilsen sings of regrets and nights turned sour, he introspects, and shares over the course of each album what he’s learned as he grows older. 

Their recently released sixth studio album, Natural Affair, is no exception. 

As with their previous albums and EPs, Natural Affair helps you form a certain kinship with the the Growlers. Neilsen’s voice is unmistakable-- an extremely valuable asset, resulting in a band whose music you’re sure to recognise within seconds. 

Their growth is clear as day from the moment the beat drops on the first track, Natural Affair. It’s respectable, especially considering how well they’ve managed to stick to their signature narrative. 

The band solidified a grungy, lo-fi sound through their first few albums, well represented by their 2013 EP Not. Psych!’s Tell It How It Is. But for the first time since the their formation in 2006, Neilsen’s naturally gruff voice is unfiltered, providing a sharp yet addicting contrast to its crisp instrumentals. 

It’s very experimental, something that’s been a long time coming since their 2014 release, Chinese Fountain-- their first album produced in a proper studio with what Brooks himself calls “nice equipment”. You see confidence in Natural Affair, with 80’s inspired tracks like Social Man, Stupid Things, and Foghorn Town that, without Neilsen’s voice, could be mistaken for something off Songs From The Big Chair. In other words: they really went to town on the funky percussion, and it worked. 

That being said, it still features a few bass-heavy rock songs expected from the band. Long Hot Night (Halfway to Certain), and my personal favourite, Die and Live Forever, are timeless, filling you with that full-bodied catharsis rock fans crave. 

In fact, the whole album makes you want to dance, whether it be a full-bodied groove to Social Man, or a lazy headbob to Shadow Woman. 

Natural Affair is now available for streaming on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.