Ganglians
XOYO, London
08/11/2010

Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver made a massive impact with their debut records, twisting the principles of folk to varying degrees to craft magical fireside songs. Ganglians were compared to these bands when the crackling folk fuzz of their debut 7 inch recordings first emerged. Further inspection outed such comparisons as lazy pigeonholing, the Californians’ spooky acoustic harmonising sharing little in common with neither the soulful beardies nor the forest dwelling introvert.

Back in London after their brilliant debut ‘Monster Head Room’ has had time to weave itself into the city’s underground musical tapestry, the quartet rock up at XOYO with a point to prove. Sipping herbal tea and spending a shade too long tuning and testing his guitar and his effects board, frontman Ryan Grubbs is a frustrating mix of perfectionist and spaced-out rocker. His vocal range surges from urchin squeal to caramel-thick harmony, spliced effectively with the often-impatient psych the band blast out. Perhaps the frustration stems from the fact that, one song in, he drawls, “We’re gonna play new songs nobody has heard before.” Quotes like this can sound the death knell for a gig, fans arrive to enjoy album highlights, only to be dumbfounded by unfamiliar new material.

Tonight Ganglians canter haphazardly through a set of barbed wire acid folk, luscious harmonies take a back seat, usurped by faster, spikier, even dancier, melodies. Hi hats fizz and bass wobbles as the Sacramento band show desire and ability to evolve and embrace exciting sonic development. The most impressive moments come when Beach Boys harmonies peek out from beneath the glossy gloop of reverb-soaked, shimmering guitars. Less immediate are the haphazard sprints, the subtle layers the band can so capably build suffer with the change in tempo. Yet Ganglians are a loveable band, and you can’t knock such commitment to musical development.

Ben Homewood