In the waning days of this summer, Geordie Greep unceremoniously announced the end of his feverishly beloved band Black Midi.After initial confusion and suspicion that the trio might just be trolling us, the split was confirmed.
Soon after, Greep officially announced his solo debut album.As if to underline the finality of it all, it was boldly titled The New Sound.
Across three albums, Black Midi had already proven themselves particularly restless and unpredictable musical adventurers.Greep’s material, in particular, sharply abandoned any association with the “post-punk” scene that originally begat the band, flitting through an array of old-time-y musical traditions while warping them to fit in Black Midi’s own gonzo world.
On The New Sound, some will hear the former Black Midi member untethered — frenetic, dense arrangements, Latin-tinged prog opuses, precious few concessions to the fans still sticking around hoping for another “953” mosh pit.Initially, The New Sound can feel like the most challenging and baffling work from Greep yet.
But soon, it reveals itself to be something different.Free to pursue his ideas entirely on his own terms, all of Greep’s idiosyncrasies start to make more sense together.
It’s a vastly ambitious and accomplished album from a musical standpoint, and Greep matches that with a new sense of focus on vocal performance as well as lyrical acuity.These are strange, epic songs, magnifying the confessions of sad, drunk men in late night scenes so that they feel poignant and mythological even when lurid.
The New Sound begins to feel like Greep throwing down the gauntlet.It’s an impressive reintroduction.
Ahead of its release, Greep and I caught up via Zoom.As usual, he proved a candid, thoughtful interviewee, his thoughts only serving to further clarify the bizarre but gripping vision he’s presented on The New Sound.
Below, hear new single “Blues” and read excerpts from our conversation.The album ...