Grandchildren

Everlasting (Green Owl)

By Elizabeth Flynn
Published: October 1st, 2010 | 7:00am

Anyone that loves Animal Collective will likely love Grandchildren. Everlasting is interesting music, very much of it’s time, and precisely the sound of now (or Williamsburg in 2008)—yet it lacks passion, feels clinical, and very contrived. The lyrics are expansive and noncommittal. The prog-rock guitar influences seem calculated. It’s as if the members of this band dissected the current major trends in indie rock like Pandora’s music genome algorithm and soullessly added them to the album like bland ingredients in a tasteless meal.

Mix a little world music influence with minimal, but intricate, electronic beats and heavy synth overtones, throw in obscurely poetic lyrics with airy vocal harmonies, and voila, you’ve got an indie rock record from 2010. There’s no fire, no sabroso, no caliente. Grandchildren’s press release states that Everlasting is, “like an audio scrapbook of nostalgia and pop-culture inspired by memories from the songwriter’s life,” and though it does have a collage-like feel and is expertly, mathematically done, it feels hollow. The standout exceptions are “OK I’m Waiting,” which has an appealing melancholy, and “Anthill,” where the rocking horn section spices up Grandchildren’s sound.

This Philadelphia native hates to trash hometown heroes, and the fact that this album was composed by Aleks Martray on the third floor of the awesome Danger Danger Gallery in West Philly makes it even harder for me to truly hate on it. Everlasting is excellently, adeptly made and played, and seeing Grandchildren play live might highlight their virtuosity, but as is, it just sounds like everything else.

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Grandchildren MySpace page

Green Owl Records