"I was standing in line, just killing time / looking at my phone in the sunshine / Sweat bead dripping like an ice cream cone / then I realized... / Was I even alive?"
I am sucked into the wily, chunky atmospheres of "Downtown Side" by Philadelphia based indie alt rock three piece Grocer right away. I am digging the drum maneuvers, solid and right on top of the beat, digging the expressive wide eyed vocal countenance, the forward pushed bass lines and the squeals, squeaks of the obtuse guitar sounds. At times the music feels absolutely synergistic and at other times they seem at odds with each other, squaring off for a fight. The emotional tones for me at times feel detached too and sometimes exasperated or sad and press notey stuff reveal what is behind this track.
Nicholas Rahn (guitar/vocals):
“The lyrics of “Downtown Side” are about a condition I have called Vasovagal Syncope, in which certain triggers cause me to abruptly faint. The anxiety of this occurring ironically creates a second fear where I worry that at any given point in time, I am actually unconscious and simply experiencing a lifelike dream.”
“The lyrics of “Downtown Side” are about a condition I have called Vasovagal Syncope, in which certain triggers cause me to abruptly faint. The anxiety of this occurring ironically creates a second fear where I worry that at any given point in time, I am actually unconscious and simply experiencing a lifelike dream.”
I know someone who has epilepsy and from talking to them I totally get the added anxiety of having a condition that attacks at any given moment. I have never heard of Vasovagal Syncope but my curious mind will surely have me googling it. I am really digging the sound of "Downtown Side" and the chorus with added sort of gang vox. I love bands that don't have a singular lead vocalist and that seems to be the case with Grocer. I will be checking out their live performances on-line.
"Downtown Side" is from Grocer's upcoming album "Scatter Plot" dropping March 3rd, 2023. Grocer is Cody Nelson (drums / vox), Danielle Lovier (bass / vox) and Nicholas Rahn (guitar / vox).
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://twitter.com/ItsGrocer
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3UdgFit4pWnDgoazPUn3sa
https://itsgrocer.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/itsgrocer/
Grocer is a band from Philadelphia. Lead by three distinct vocalists, they pendulate between moments of brash atonality, saccharine pop sensibility, and rhythmic acrobatics.
Their compositions are both meticulous and volatile, while their live performances are lauded for explosive chemistry with cheeky curiosity. On their most recent full length, Numbers Game, the band rearranged the puzzle pieces of 90s-influenced rock and dissonant pop into something utterly their own.
Now building on a landscape of polyrhythms and chromaticism that their fans have grown to cherish, they explore new sonic structures in their forthcoming EP, Scatter Plot. Across its six tracks, Grocer reiterates they are just as comfortable with glassy earworms as they are with angular dissonance. They remain giddy, furious and singularly themselves.
A notably ambitious touring outfit, the self-described “road dogs” will be touring the US in March 2023 with a return to Treefort Music Festival in the middle of another lap of the nation. Grocer amuses and perplexes live audiences all over the country and do the same around the globe on their Audiotree and NPR sessions. They are playful entertainers at heart, but not to the detriment of the genuinely substantive work that they create.
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