If you had asked me about the future of prog-rock, I would have talked your ear off about my favorite band, Black Midi, and all the insane stuff they’ve done. So what if I tell you that one of the best prog-rock albums of the year was a product of this band disbanding? Soon after Black Midi announced their official break up, Geordie Greep (former frontman) would announce a solo project of his own. The New Sound is the first solo project from Geordie Greep and brings the technical insanity from Black Midi and combines it with Brazilian bossa nova to create a sound unlike anything I have ever heard.
The New Sound is a chaotic jazz-rock album marked by deceptive satire, instrumentals that will make your toes curl, and the theatrical vocals of Geordie Greep. Throughout this album, Greep strives to critique toxic masculinity through exaggerated characters and a lot of satire. This is particularly evident in tracks like “Holy, Holy,” where a womanizer’s ego is exposed as a shallow facade, and “Through a War,” which touches on violence in relationships. This album emphasizes the chaotic nature of these themes through ambitious, genre-bending instrumentation you would only expect from a maniac like Geordie Greep.
While having such an important and heavy topic, Greep does a great job at balancing out the intensity with incredible instrumentals. Tracks like “Blues” and “Holy, Holy” have very vulgar and even disturbing lyrics, describing the dismissive sexism and patronizing tendencies of pitiful men. However, they are some of my favorite sounding tracks, as the rhythmically complex arrangements of bossa nova, jazz, and art rock are balanced perfectly with Greep’s intimate vocal performance. Without hearing the lyrics to either of these songs, you would easily find them upbeat and danceable. But once you listen through the bossa nova inspired jazz-rock instrumental, you find yourself immersed in the stories of toxic men causing a range of different emotions. In “Holy, Holy,” I found myself so entranced by the instrumentation that I didn’t pay any attention to the lyrics until a few listens later, where I was rather taken aback that such an upbeat-sounding song could be about such a disgusting character. I find this very impactful to the themes of the album, as I, the listener, was Greep’s representation of society overlooking the toxic masculinity even though it is right in front of them.
Even through the break of Black Midi, the bond between lead singer and guitarist Geordie Greep and percussionist Morgan Simpson stays strong. The percussionist appears on several tracks throughout the album, delivering the incredible and complex sounds you would expect from a genius like Simpson. Though Greep continues to collaborate with former band members, he wants this album to represent a new side of him outside of his former band. The title of this album, The New Sound, has been interpreted in many ways, but I see it as a claim of freedom, a claim to a sound that is Geordie Greep and not Black Midi. Overall, The New Sound feels like the perfect departure from Black Midi and introduction to the unhinged mind of Geordie Greep. The highly technical feeling of Black Midi still stands strong but with a new Latin twist. I can’t say this album will be for everyone, but it surely is for me. I give this album a 9.3/10 and recommend all music fans check this out, especially if you liked Black Midi.
Photo Credits from Yis Kid
