Hailed as the successor to Poor Old Lu, Jeremiah's Grotto certainly has the youth group lyrics, delicate bass lines, and emotive jangly guitars.
But what is missing is that aura of maturity that Poor Old Lu always seemed to be able to conjure into a song. Songs sound more like strung together samples from POL, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Brandtson then somehow unified. Vocal performances are just as derivative, while listening one gets the sense that Egnik already did it, and did it better.
Production is average, allowing the guitars to coexist with the whispered atmospheric type of vocals, although the drums alternate between sounding muffled and tinny. For a demo, this would be an understandable effort, but as a debut, it's much too weak and unoriginal. While there is some talent in the layered guitars and bass, Jeremiah's Grotto needs to write some material that sounds different from the SDRE and POL albums they're trying to emulate.
1.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #82Reviewed by Ben MengdenThis one is a tricky album. The first few songs I loved. Somewhere in it they lost me. So, right off you're thinking that this isn't a good album. Wrong. The first few songs are incredible. Incredible. I wish the whole CD was as good as the first part. Here's why: The first track leads off in this truly elegant four minute instrumental that emo has made a name in doing. The second track we get to…Similar sounding releases
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