The first impression I was left with after listening to The Growlers new album City Club was that I have mistakenly played something else, some nonsense commercial dish from the kitchen of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys, The Last Shadow Puppets). The sound coming from my headphones was not even close to that psych surf rock that The Growlers were creating on their four past albums. Although they have experimented before, they have always rendered it by adding root influences, rather than desperately operating photosynthesis with modern lightshows.
What we hear from the very first track City Club is not an experiment. It is a complete change of sound for the commercial purposes. Instead of garage, guitar rock, we've got 80s synth funk. The song Vacant Lot sounds like something above mentioned Turner desperately tries to produce now that his enormous creativity has decreased as his fortune and popularity decreased. Not good, The Growlers, not good. The thing become clear when you realize who is the main producer of the album - Julian Casablancas (The Strokes). His production has made already weak album even more tedious and polished. Not a single trace of those fuzzy guitars, twisted melodies and unconventional rhythm. Everything is ironed now with lame synth sound, mechanical rhythms and hackneyed bass lines. In rare moments, you can notice a spark of The Growlers we previously fell in love with. But these moments are super rare, plus they are soaked in the 80s synth funk, so it's hard to even hear them.
I believe that The Growlers expended their fanbase with this effort, but maybe among those who listen to Maroon 5 or some other trash. The question is whether they are going to be able to keep the old fans. We will see after their next album. I mean, I always support musician's desire to experiment, but If your vision of experimentation is blurred by commercial tendencies, don't expect me to give you a positive review.
