Vegetable G
Genealogy

I saw them last summer... July... opening for A TOYS ORCHESTRA... I talked to them after the concert, and they told me the album would be out in October... I bought it...

Here it is: a 1950s style cover in grayscale, a flying saucer landing, name, and associated credits added as if they were the final titles of a retro American film; inside, a beautiful illustration, all in black and white, depicting the alleged (and mysterious) landing of humans on planet Earth. All very nice, including the brave choice to forego colors, which dominate music store shelves.

The album is a delirium!!!

The first provocation is right at the beginning, with the delirious, fun, and cheeky "The cox man", an unmistakably Beatles-style track complete with choruses and carefully orchestrated mini-mistakes; on a superficial listen, it might almost seem like a botched cover, but when "Genealogy" (splendid) starts, it's immediately clear that not only is everything in the opening track perfect and deliberately done, but also that the story is different... a lively rhythm with the piano strongly pushing the guitars, an obsessive refrain, three minutes and some that have the effect of catapulting you into the album with its engaging dynamic. 60s atmospheres become more present with the beautiful "Go wild", with the bass supporting continuous interweavings of keyboards and guitars (both scratched and not), and the voice continuously playing between high falsettos and more composed low tones.

But the album is not only about the blend of 60s and new wave. The first turn comes with the more modern (and edgy) "Generating you", a dirty bass and a sound much closer to the current indie generation, paving the way for the wonderful "God bless", a raw and melancholic voice, with the first fully electronic inserts. We are now in the phase with spacey sounds, and if "Life" brings a breath of gravity with its more typically instrumental style, "(May) be like god" raises the bar again, with a metallic voice and a full spacey atmosphere, and a final crescendo anticipated from the first note. Rightly ambitious.

The company (or solitude) of man is always in the forefront, in all its wild dimension. "Run" moves peacefully among faux music box sounds and string inserts, an ideal lunar stroll before "Complicity", a sharp and original attack for a distinctly 80s sound, which the band achieves by blending all the sounds crossed so far. "Complicity" is yet another gem of the album, complete and aggressive, with a Bowie-style singing and a very modern style, though with post-punk roots.

And so it ends as it began, with a musically sophisticated provocation: with the start of "Us", the 60s sounds become evident again, almost superfluous; you might hope the piece (well made as it is) doesn't last long, and in fact, it doesn't... but wouldn't you know it, the next track, as already clear from the title ("The end of us"), picks up the same theme, reinterpreting it in a modern key? And it's a piece that is both sharp and nostalgic, soft yet tough, made of modern atmospheres and past experiences. Plus the inevitable alien track, which I'll let you discover for yourself.

"Genealogy" is for the Vegetable G the album of the descent to earth.

The mastering seems deliberately rudimentary. The recording is well done; the instruments are distinctly perceivable but certainly not in a conventional way. The result: the album "pumps" less, but the sounds are decidedly more live, almost (though not reaching the extreme) akin to The Jesus and Mary chain.

Enjoy the listen!!!!

p.s. This album rocks!!!!!!!!!!