The Graveltones
Don’t Wait Down
Lagoon Dog Records
2013
The Graveltones are two Australian boys who met in London, jammed in a studio and decided to record their stuff and share it with the rest of the world. Their debut album is called “Don’t Wait Down”. If you like Jack White’s music, then this album is for you. To be more exact, “Don’t Wait Down” is a mixture of Jack White and The Black Keys. In other words, 60‘s and 70’s music with a fuzzy yet crispy sound of the 21st century.
The whole album features a sort of live-like or studio jam type of thing. This is a good and a bad thing at the same time. It is good because it gives the record a vibrant edge and bad because it makes it sort of a challenge to get through the whole album in one sitting. Personally, the first time that I listened to “Don’t Wait Down” I thought that it started really well (“Bang Bang” is an absolutely perfect introduction track), but soon I found my attention gradually fading away. Just to be clear, I’m not saying that the tracks are bad. Far from it, they are all pretty sweet. It’s just that each song is so similar to the next that it’s like you are listening to the same song for the first 20 minutes or so. I mean the riffs, the song structure and the general vibe of almost all the tracks there are pretty much identical.
There are exceptions of course. Notice that I previously said that it’s like you are listening to the same song for 20 minutes or so. This was because “Crime to Talkin” comes then. Never mind the female vocals (which are brilliant), just the fact that this song starts off slowly and quietly and gradually builds up (in contrast to the in-your-face approach every other track before it followed) sets it apart and therefore makes it interesting. The same goes for “I Am A Liar”.
Other tracks that, in my opinion, stand out from “Don’t Wait Down” are “Forget About the Trouble”, “Catch Me on the Fly” and “Six Billion”, the little jamming diamond which the Graveltones saved for last.
In closing, I found “Don’t Wait Down” filled with great tracks for mix-tapes, MP3 playlists and compilation CDs, but a bit tiring as a whole. Do check it out though, it’s worth it. And as far as The Graveltones are concerned, I think we (just might) see some pretty sweet things from them in the near future.
The whole album features a sort of live-like or studio jam type of thing. This is a good and a bad thing at the same time. It is good because it gives the record a vibrant edge and bad because it makes it sort of a challenge to get through the whole album in one sitting. Personally, the first time that I listened to “Don’t Wait Down” I thought that it started really well (“Bang Bang” is an absolutely perfect introduction track), but soon I found my attention gradually fading away. Just to be clear, I’m not saying that the tracks are bad. Far from it, they are all pretty sweet. It’s just that each song is so similar to the next that it’s like you are listening to the same song for the first 20 minutes or so. I mean the riffs, the song structure and the general vibe of almost all the tracks there are pretty much identical.
There are exceptions of course. Notice that I previously said that it’s like you are listening to the same song for 20 minutes or so. This was because “Crime to Talkin” comes then. Never mind the female vocals (which are brilliant), just the fact that this song starts off slowly and quietly and gradually builds up (in contrast to the in-your-face approach every other track before it followed) sets it apart and therefore makes it interesting. The same goes for “I Am A Liar”.
Other tracks that, in my opinion, stand out from “Don’t Wait Down” are “Forget About the Trouble”, “Catch Me on the Fly” and “Six Billion”, the little jamming diamond which the Graveltones saved for last.
In closing, I found “Don’t Wait Down” filled with great tracks for mix-tapes, MP3 playlists and compilation CDs, but a bit tiring as a whole. Do check it out though, it’s worth it. And as far as The Graveltones are concerned, I think we (just might) see some pretty sweet things from them in the near future.