By Daily 49er rating: ★★★★★
Orange County is a breeding ground for unique and successful bands, and The Growlers are rapidly making their way to the top of the list.
Formed in 2006, the five-piece, mostly mustachioed band has cranked out five full length albums since, with two last year alone.
“Chinese Fountain,” their most culminating so far, was released on September 23.
Their genre is best described as “Beach Goth”—after which the Observatory’s two-year young festival is named— and is a fusion of all things beachy and psychadelic, folky and garage.
In fact, The Growlers is a fusion of genres that music enthusiasts will inevitably hear something they recognize, but the sounds are far from mimicry.
The album begins with the same old Growlers fashion. “Big Toe,” the first track, begins with folk-style base, a gothic minor tonality and a steady beat accompanying the conversational lyrics of front man Brooks Nielsen.
The band makes a point to compare and contrast with their older albums.
“She’s got me on the bridge looking down at the ‘Old Cold River,’” Brooks sings, followed by an interlude from the song that appears on their 2009 album, “Are You in or Out?”
Nielsen, who seems to have harmony embedded in his soul, sings as if he’s singing to no one but himself, ambling down the street, telling a friend about a long lost love or his qualms with the big city. The melodies are still strung with simple percussion and the occasional tambourine rattle.
As the album progresses, it’s difficult to place a finger on what exactly is different. The first two tracks stick to their traditional subject matter, a poetic take on love and, well, whatever else they sang about.
While the Growlers have always said a lot in their songs, it seems they aim to get a message across in this one; the style is more narrative, and the moral is less cryptic.
Neilsen comments on technology and our generation in “Chinese Fountain,” and the entire song is quotable.
“We are the miners of another generation,” is followed by a comment on the low quality of today’s music and the filth of our water.
For a few tracks on the album, such as “Good Advice,” the band drops their softer melancholy style and picks up some more sharp, energetic and rock-heavy tunes.
Brooks charmingly sings about love in the country, comparing it with fast life in the city: “The city moves too fast to appreciate/ all the time it takes for sweet loving.”
Despite their being from Orange County, the Growlers reveals how far they feel from the city life singing, “All the girls in LA look like they’re fading away/ a woman should be strong with big legs and thick arms.”
We’ll never know what the Growlers could have gotten into between 2013’s “Gilded Pleasures” and “Chinese Fountain,” but it seems that they’ve gained a sort of philosophical contentment.
“The labor of our love will reward us soon enough,” Brooks says in “Going Gets Tough.”
Along with their usually dancey rhythm, the Growlers present an appetizing dose of advice, and for fans of the quickly popularizing band, it’s more than welcoming.
