In this age of freemp3forafacebookfriendoremailaddressexchange
pleaseupdateyourstatusandleteveryoneknowyou’retakingthetimeout
ofyourbusydaytolistentothissongwhichistherockingestuneverplease
cometoourshoworbuyatshirtatleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease
music it’s easy to forget what the experience of listening to music used to be like. 

Why, back in the day, I would ease the shrink wrap off the vinyl, put the record on the turntable and sit back to see what hit me from the Klipsch speakers I spent way too much of my disposable income to own. I was even enough of a fanatic that I bought loose plastic covers to replace the shrink wrap – gotta protect the album art – god forbid you were one of the dolts who simply slit the shrink wrap and left it intact on three sides and risked warping the record.

After an initial misstep and an aborted first listen to “Grace Potter and the Nocturnals” new, self-titled record – I realized the error of my wavs. Here’s what happened . . .

<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/4642315846_56d2ccccf5.jpg">

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Picture a late night – post work computer session. Finally I’ve got some time to concentrate on this new record that I’ve been anticipating for so long.  I gently place the needle on the record launch iTunes and hit the play button and wait in anticipation and it hits me – “Hunh” followed by nasty guitar licks as the opener “Paris” courses through my headphones. About thirty seconds in I begin to realize that something is wrong and I experience a growing discomfort. I’m sitting in my bedroom, it’s dark out and I’m listening to this via headphones while sitting in the chair. Travesty.  Stop

Fast forward to the next day. I’m in the car with an extended drive through the Green Mountains of Vermont. Summer is in the air, the windows are down and I start it all up again – better, much better.

Over the last few months the story coming from the band is that, finally, this record captures their sound in the “Now”. If the goal was to bottle the energetic live performances of GPN the record is an overwhelming success. 

Free from the studio embellishments and multi-track layering that sometimes added a complexity but sometimes distracting element to “This Is Somewhere”, “Grace Potter and the Nocturnals” does a stellar job of trimming the sound back to it’s essential elements. Sure, there’s a layered chorus here and there, an additional driving piano medley, a handclap back beat, but overall the record is a faithful to the sound the band creates on stage. Lyrically the songs explore themes of sexual tension and heartbreak as well as an underlying message of hope against a backdrop of bleakness

Behind the simplicity of the sound lies a stellar achievement – channeling the legendary high energy of a live show when the band is kicking it hard onto tape without losing the essence of the performances. 

The power-charged romps of “Paris”, “Medicine”, “Only Love” and “Hot Summer Night” benefit the most from this treatment.  The compressed vocals of “Paris” along with the dual guitar crunch finally create the definitive version of a song that’s been churning around for a few years. The New Orleans boogie vibe of “Medicine” recalls Fleetwood Mac while “Only Love” and “Hot Summer Night” burn with the intense energy of Grace’s vocal performance and are quickly becoming my go-to high energy choices.

The record doesn’t lose its footing in the mid-tempo numbers. Once again Grace’s voice carries “Low Road” and Catherine Popper’s complex underlying bass lines bring mystery to the trippy lines of “Oasis”. The biggest surprise on the record is the transformation of “That Phone” from the sassy, teenage payback version first heard at Bonnaroo to a more mature soulful shouter a-la Sharon Jones. A tonal shift that does a world of good for a song that was already a keeper.

The records first single, “Tiny Light”, changes from a flowing ballad into a balls out rocker at the end that highlights Scott Tournet and Benny Yurco’s charged interplay. While the song itself certainly highlights the talents of the band it's a difficult musical thred for a newer fan to unravel. “Colors” takes its place among Grace’s increasing collection of impressive, soaring ballads although I prefer when she pours on the emotional pain.  Throughout the record Matt Burr’s drums are prominent and follow the urgency of rhythm the songs demand. Never a showy drummer – Matt’s complimentary style does wonders for the record.  Above all though, this record is a workout for Grace’s vocal talents which, staggeringly, are just getting better over time.

Not every track on the record is a standout. “Money, for all it’s opulent song craft, suffers from being lyrically disconnected from any other song on the album and represents the downside of Grace’s exploration with song co-writing.  Similarly, “Things I Never Needed” paints an alt-twang picture of heartbreak that resonates as a standalone track but its musical roots feel slightly out of place on this record. 

Personally, I’ve battled with “One Short Night” since I first heard the song accidentally leaked from a DayTrotter session months back. Lyrically – I love it – the imagery of risking love on a foolish mistake – “prowling like the devil that I’m trying to hide” is stellar. Still, I’m not sure the song has ever found it’s true musical footing. The addition of the keyboard line to ground the melody doesn’t offer the musical heft the lyrics demand. Every time I hear the song in concert it seems to exist outside of the rest of the show. The recent acoustic version reveals the excellent heart of the song still waiting to arrive.

“Grace Potter and the Nocturnals” is a record that demands motion - this is not a record for the sedentary. The songs here practically beg you to throw your windows open on the world and turn it up. The band and producer Mark Batson have crafted an excellent record that captures the urgency and feel of a band poised for an explosion.


(Addendum: Do you know how hard it is to be a music journalist? Do any of you have a clue? Answer: It ain't that hard)

