Album Review: Retribution Gospel Choir Self Titled
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*rating* 8.2*summary* LOW founder's side project dials up the urgency and volume...but remains slo(core) and steady enough to win the race.
*This two person review is by Wendy W. and Sage T.*ST: Wendy, it's good to have you around - it's been too long since we've been honored by your keen musical insight.WW: Ditto for you..only replace keen musical insight with keen ass kissing.ST: Your tact and grace are as refined as a mythical princess and never ceases to amaze.WW: shut it.ST: So me'lady, today we are reviewing Retribution Gospel Choir's self titled album.... which, just to get out of the way, is not a down on their luck Acapella group from the block. There's a weird trend with indie band names lately - make it sound all deep woods religiousy or make it something about Vampire Robots.WW: Well, beyond the fact that their music isn't a literal interpretation of their name - The surprising thing about Retribution Gospel Choir isn’t their foot-stomping, melodic music, It’s not that they sound like a slightly more restrained Queens of the Stone Age, It’s that the man responsible for this riff-heavy band is none other than Alan Sparhawk.ST: Who, as we all know, is the leading man behind LOW - the band that if they didn't invent "slowcore" basically perfected it.WW: Who knew that he had an inner rock star just waiting to be heard? ST: Well, it's certainly something fans of LOW have been secretly hoping for. I'm a huge fan, they made it on my best of '07 list, but sometimes the snail's pace drum smack as a guy methodically eats an entire cake just doesn't quite get the blood pumping. And what do you know, it aparently didn't get Alan Sparhawk's blood pumping either - thus this left-of field cathartic release.WW: Well...it's not totally left of field. Retribution Gospel Choir has been around since 2005 and has released two tour EP’s. It’s just taken them until now to release this full length album. And i'll agree...for the founder of slo-rock, this is about as peppy as it gets.ST: Not that you'll confuse RGC for the Descendents or anything. But if LOW's music is like the morgue - full of harsh light, vacuous dread, chilled air, and oh-god-did-i-just-hear-a-heartbeat-in-the-wallsstyle rhythms, Retribution Gospel Choir is like the operating table - a hushed urgency, the electric crackle of paddles on flesh, and the occasional spurt of arterial fluid. It's all very controlled and very messy and someone just might die.WW: So who are they operating on then?ST: Us man! the listener! WW: wow. that's deep.ST: thanks.WW: Usually it's bad form to keep bringing up an artist's past work with another band, but really, you just can't separate the two bands, and it's not just cause RGC is in effect LOW minus one. LOW’s influence is in the undercurrent of the entire record and specifically in the form of two songs: “Breaker” and “Take Your Time” are both covers that appeared on the last Low album and are re-imagined on the Retribution record with heavy backbeats and twitchy drum patterns.ST: but that's really it...it's an influence - not like RGC is a tribute band to itself or something. WW: exactly. Like LOW there’s a dark, gruff undercurrent to the songs - but unlike LOW that undercurrent actually materializes, thanks largely to the production talents of Mark Kozelek – a former member of the band who also released the record on his Caldo Verde label. Kozelek’s unfettered production gives the album a dry, propulsive crunch that works well with the uptempo tracks. Songs like “Take Your Time” and “Holes in Our Heads” have a loud/soft dynamic that would rarely be found on a Low album, and large portions of the record are straight-up rock’n’roll. ST: That's where the equation shifts...LOW was about building the dread, RGC finally delivers on that threat. The slow chug escalates to a mighty pumping - pulling us toward the blown out tracks and our fiery demise.WW: As you said earlier..this is the sort of thing fans of LOW were always hoping would happen but were too embarrassed to ask for. It’s exciting to hear Sparhawk’s voice used in a heftier way, and his straightforward lyrics contrast well with the big, Neil Young and Crazy Horse-style playing. Even lines like “Our bodies break / and the blood just spills and spills” seem fitting in the urgent framework of the album. ST: Really, if you haven't picked it up from this review yet, viewers at home, if you like LOW, or at least see the potential but couldn't stay awake for the execution - this album is for you. You can only keep slowburning emotions like lust, anger, and fear bottled up for so long - RGC's self trepanation releases their demons...now it is we who must figure out what to do with them.WW: Sparhawk has always had a keen talent for getting to the emotional core of a subject, and this album is no exception. With a visceral sound that resonates on an emotional level, the Retribution Gospel Choir has given us an album that is rough and powerful. The end result is a swaggering, aggressive surprise that releases all the pent up rage Low always hinted at. Gospel? Maybe. Retribution? Definitely.
*This two person review is by Wendy W. and Sage T.*ST: Wendy, it's good to have you around - it's been too long since we've been honored by your keen musical insight.WW: Ditto for you..only replace keen musical insight with keen ass kissing.ST: Your tact and grace are as refined as a mythical princess and never ceases to amaze.WW: shut it.ST: So me'lady, today we are reviewing Retribution Gospel Choir's self titled album.... which, just to get out of the way, is not a down on their luck Acapella group from the block. There's a weird trend with indie band names lately - make it sound all deep woods religiousy or make it something about Vampire Robots.WW: Well, beyond the fact that their music isn't a literal interpretation of their name - The surprising thing about Retribution Gospel Choir isn’t their foot-stomping, melodic music, It’s not that they sound like a slightly more restrained Queens of the Stone Age, It’s that the man responsible for this riff-heavy band is none other than Alan Sparhawk.ST: Who, as we all know, is the leading man behind LOW - the band that if they didn't invent "slowcore" basically perfected it.WW: Who knew that he had an inner rock star just waiting to be heard? ST: Well, it's certainly something fans of LOW have been secretly hoping for. I'm a huge fan, they made it on my best of '07 list, but sometimes the snail's pace drum smack as a guy methodically eats an entire cake just doesn't quite get the blood pumping. And what do you know, it aparently didn't get Alan Sparhawk's blood pumping either - thus this left-of field cathartic release.WW: Well...it's not totally left of field. Retribution Gospel Choir has been around since 2005 and has released two tour EP’s. It’s just taken them until now to release this full length album. And i'll agree...for the founder of slo-rock, this is about as peppy as it gets.ST: Not that you'll confuse RGC for the Descendents or anything. But if LOW's music is like the morgue - full of harsh light, vacuous dread, chilled air, and oh-god-did-i-just-hear-a-heartbeat-in-the-wallsstyle rhythms, Retribution Gospel Choir is like the operating table - a hushed urgency, the electric crackle of paddles on flesh, and the occasional spurt of arterial fluid. It's all very controlled and very messy and someone just might die.WW: So who are they operating on then?ST: Us man! the listener! WW: wow. that's deep.ST: thanks.WW: Usually it's bad form to keep bringing up an artist's past work with another band, but really, you just can't separate the two bands, and it's not just cause RGC is in effect LOW minus one. LOW’s influence is in the undercurrent of the entire record and specifically in the form of two songs: “Breaker” and “Take Your Time” are both covers that appeared on the last Low album and are re-imagined on the Retribution record with heavy backbeats and twitchy drum patterns.ST: but that's really it...it's an influence - not like RGC is a tribute band to itself or something. WW: exactly. Like LOW there’s a dark, gruff undercurrent to the songs - but unlike LOW that undercurrent actually materializes, thanks largely to the production talents of Mark Kozelek – a former member of the band who also released the record on his Caldo Verde label. Kozelek’s unfettered production gives the album a dry, propulsive crunch that works well with the uptempo tracks. Songs like “Take Your Time” and “Holes in Our Heads” have a loud/soft dynamic that would rarely be found on a Low album, and large portions of the record are straight-up rock’n’roll. ST: That's where the equation shifts...LOW was about building the dread, RGC finally delivers on that threat. The slow chug escalates to a mighty pumping - pulling us toward the blown out tracks and our fiery demise.WW: As you said earlier..this is the sort of thing fans of LOW were always hoping would happen but were too embarrassed to ask for. It’s exciting to hear Sparhawk’s voice used in a heftier way, and his straightforward lyrics contrast well with the big, Neil Young and Crazy Horse-style playing. Even lines like “Our bodies break / and the blood just spills and spills” seem fitting in the urgent framework of the album. ST: Really, if you haven't picked it up from this review yet, viewers at home, if you like LOW, or at least see the potential but couldn't stay awake for the execution - this album is for you. You can only keep slowburning emotions like lust, anger, and fear bottled up for so long - RGC's self trepanation releases their demons...now it is we who must figure out what to do with them.WW: Sparhawk has always had a keen talent for getting to the emotional core of a subject, and this album is no exception. With a visceral sound that resonates on an emotional level, the Retribution Gospel Choir has given us an album that is rough and powerful. The end result is a swaggering, aggressive surprise that releases all the pent up rage Low always hinted at. Gospel? Maybe. Retribution? Definitely.
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