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Rating: Behind the moniker "The Organ" are five Canadian girls, who released this album back in 2004 with Mint Records, but in total anonymity.
In about two years, word of mouth on the internet has done justice to what I foresee as one of the releases (although it would be more appropriate to talk about re-releases, since this year's edition is curated by "Too Pure Records") most delightful of 2006.
Although truly annoying, it is obligatory to preface that no innovations are found on this album, musically speaking, that said, I think I can prematurely close the much common game of derivations, which are clearly eighties, from the Cure of "Seventeen Seconds" and "Boys Don't Cry", to the inevitable Joy Division, for the existential nuances, the never-mentioned Fall and Stranglers, for the very often "dreamy" arrangements, up to the Smiths, especially for Katie Sketch's voice, and Interpol. Despite all this citationism that will make the proponents of the game I mentioned earlier wrinkle their noses (among whom I include myself..), "Grab That Gun" is one of those rare releases that truly shatter your heart.
The melodies are as sweet, captivating, and poignant as one can ask for in this last stretch of time, which apart from rare exceptions like Interpol and ILYBICD, draws heavily from the new wave cauldron, but from its most superficial, trendy part, see Strokes, Bloc Party, Maximo Park. The freshness it expresses is incredible, almost every track is a potential single groove-crasher, with its rhythmic section devoid of virtuosity but driving, especially the bass lines, very deep.
The guitar seems, and here citationism is inevitable, but absolutely in a positive way, a mix of Johnny Marr's arpeggios and Robert Smith and Bernard Sumner's torments. The Hammond gives a pleasant solemn aura to it all, succeeding in the difficult mission of not weighing down but filling up. The voice is touching, candid, and disillusioned, hope certainly does not reside in the optical fibers of this record, as can also be deduced from the lyrics, resigned but vigorous ("A sudden Death" and "Brother" above all). It starts precisely with the arpeggio of "Brother", where Sketch's voice is already the protagonist, along with the "nasty" rhythm. "Steven Smith" begins with an organ phrase and is the most Smiths-esque of the lot, in fact, the voice is an homage to Morrissey, and perhaps also the most self-pitying.
"Love, Love, Love" is the first masterpiece of the album. The riff is truly penetrating, sweet and desperate, interpenetrated by an exceptional singing. "Basement Band Song" is a sad danceable with Sketch's vocal counterpoints, this time fatal whispers towards the end. "Sinking Hearts" and "I am not Surprised" are two other melancholic danceables, especially touching this latter one. While "There is Nothing I Can Do" and "No One Has Ever Looked So Dead" tone down a bit, cadenced ballads, the remaining two "A Sudden Death" and "Memorize The City" are among the quintet's memorable hits, boasting immediate and captivating but not obvious melodies. The first is perhaps the most emotionally abrasive track, with the riff and Hammond exuding sweet melancholy, the second, and final track of the album, launches into a very sustained rhythm, where all the matured discomfort in the work explodes, politely and moderately, but explodes, further enriched by a finally disillusioned text, as perhaps the biggest flaw of "Grab That Gun" is its self-pitying, even though it is objectively difficult to avoid when dealing with similar themes.
An extremely successful debut for the four girls, capable of collecting one gem after another and touching the listener's emotional strings with such efficacy and honesty. One can only hope they continue in this vein, but already now we can guess that it will not be easy.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Brother (04:01)
Here we go
They're back again
Look alive, warn your friends
We are warm and we are safe
Enjoy it while you can
Before things change
We have got to take cover, brother
We have got to take cover, brother
Lie down in a field if you can
Look at the night sky
Oh, where does it end?
Sometimes it hurts
When you care about me
But it's going to hurt more
When they take you away from me
We have got to take cover, brother
We have got to take cover, brother
Here, we go again
Oh, midnight knocks!
Oh, explosions!
Maybe it's all made up in our heads
This happens to me when I'm bored
Or depressed
Here is the best part of the song
Where I admit that I might be wrong
Because if they are good
And if they are right
Then they'll have their rapture
One of these nights
But if they are wrong...
We have got to take cover, brother
We have got to take cover, brother
Here is the best part of the song
Where I admit that I might be wrong
Because if they are good
And if they are right
Then they'll have their rapture
One of these nights
But if they are wrong...
04 Basement Band Song (04:12)
If I pay you five dollars will you try to make my bed?
If I pay you ten would you make me well instead?
I love your baby, baby harmonies
You really brighten up my basement suite, suite
We should go down to the mall
Look at people, judge them all
Judge them before they judge us and leave there feeling bad
We should sit and pick our hands
I think you’re a genius
And when we make your hangnails bleed
You deserve a phd
If I pay you five dollars will you try to make my bed?
If I pay you ten would you make me well instead?
I love your honey, honey harmonies
You really brighten up my basement suite, suite
We should put that record on
The one you found when you were gone
The one that has those sad, sad songs
And makes you sing out loud
We could start a basement band
Guitar hooks caught in your hands
Will travel through the west side nights
And drown out humming street lights
If I pay you five dollars will you try to make my bed?
If I pay you ten would you make me well instead?
I la-la love your la-la harmonies
You really brighten up my basement suite, suite
05 Sinking Hearts (02:09)
Remember when I left you
I couldn't say your name
Or other crucial things like I love you
And that's a shame
Oh no, I think I'm falling
Oh no, I think I'm fine
Our hearts didn't come together
But I saw the two collide
I can the see the hearts sinking
Remember when I left you
I couldn't say your name
Or other crucial things like I love you
And that's a shame
Oh no, I think I'm falling
Oh no, I think I'm fine
Our hearts didn't come together
But I saw the two collide
I can the see the hearts sinking
I can the see the hearts sinking
I can the see the hearts sinking
I can the see the hearts sinking
06 A Sudden Death (02:54)
day after day , they go
they go to gain just a little more control
and when they took yours away
i couldn't sleep at all
i lay in bed for days
i died a sudden death
i made an awful mess
i didn't stand a chance
i didn't stand a chance
â ~cause when we where our best
i could care less if people bred themselves
to death
oh, but now that you are gone
i just know that everything is wrong
don't leave me alone nowâ ¦.
07 There Is Nothing I Can Do (02:35)
My neck hurts,
'cause I’ve been cutting moons
My hands hurt,
'cause I cut them from you
So someone snuck into your room
And it got back to me
Now I lie here in my room
And there is nothing I can do
But cut and think about you
08 I Am Not Surprised (02:44)
I am not surprised
I got my head caught underneath the ice
no, I am not surprised
that I got my big head
caught underneath the ice
and on it goes…
someway , somehow
I'm going out now
it's all about myself
and I'm on to someone else
well, I know that you are near
but I feel alone even when you're here
I know that you are near
but I feel alone even when you're here
and on it goes
someway , somehow
I'm going out now
it's all about myself
and I'm on to someone else
09 No One Has Ever Looked So Dead (01:57)
It really shook you when i said
“no one has ever looked so dead”
Well, it’s over and i can’t go there anymore
And in the backseat of your car
You showed me every single star
And how the zenith and the sounds
Change in every single town
Well, it’s over and i can’t go there anymore
10 Memorize the City (03:10)
Oh, darkness filled the sky as pools of water filled your eyes
They sparkled like phosphorescence in the bay
Although our lips barely touched
I have never felt so much
And I’d really like to feel that way again
Oh-oh, when ?
I walk through the streets to memorize the city
I count every light until I reach the shore
Sometimes I close my eyes and you’re not very pretty
Sometimes I can’t believe I’ve had those thoughts before
We pulled a boat down to the dock and stole two steady oars
I pushed you off into the dark: acrisius favours
And from above the great abyss
You threw pennies in and wished for the feeling of wanting nothing more
Sometimes I close my eyes
And hope that I can keep away all the darkened skies
I walk through the streets to memorize the city
I count every light until I reach the shore
Sometimes I close my eyes and you’re not very pretty
Sometimes I can’t believe I’ve had those thoughts before
Sometimes I close my eyes
And hope that I can keep away all the darkened skies
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