Having already released 3 albums and an EP, cactus farming cult favourites The Growlers returned to the musical fray in September of last year with 'Chinese Fountain'. Based out of California the band has seen member’s come and go since it’s formation in the early noughties. Despite being musically gifted the band have shunned any opportunity to gain public attention and sell themselves out instead preferring to stay underground. Having been forced to ditch the lo-fi styled sound of past albums due to the burning down of their house/studio they chose to produce a more professional sounding album. The genre itself is hard to pin down, they have essentially built on their self titled genre of ‘beach goth’ from previous records but this time gifting us with a more polished sound.
The album opens with ‘Big Toe’, where hiding behind a catchy tune lies eerie vocals tailing Brooks Nielsen’s despondence with a girl ‘she’s a cold bitch, she’s turning me silver, she’s got me on the bridge, looking down at the old cold river’ this resonates through the rest of the album with lyrics such as ‘There’s nothing as depressing as good advice, nobody wants to hear how to live their life’ in ‘Good Advice’ where Brooks reflects on his own selfish loneliness all the time tied up with sunny melodies and distorted organs. Again in ‘Love Test’ love is dissected, ’It’s a wicked game and a crying shame there’s no way to give her a love test’ describes the struggle and hardship of love and how easy we all wish it could be, all the time again sound tracked again with their upbeat sound.
The album is far from a self-loathing biography of Nielsen’s own personal troubles but an exploration of sadness, loneliness and self-reflection all tied together in a soulful and musically original record. There is no doubt Nielsen is lyrically gifted; by the end you find yourself upbeat with enthusiasm but also a bit of self-doubt. This writer heavily advises listening to ‘Chinese Fountain’ but also their previous records which are on par if not better. Keep farming those cacti, guys!
RIFFED's Rating: 10/10
Listen to 'Chinese Fountain' via Youtube: