Garrison

The Model (2003)

Scott Heisel

Garrison sound like a lot of other bands. That's not necessarily a bad thing; most bands sound like someone else, it's almost impossible to help. It's up to the band to pick good bands to mimic, and Garrison go with some good ones.

The group's biggest influence that I can draw from this 5 song EP is that of amazingly influential band Quicksand. In tracks like "The Only One," where the guitars pound on you then abruptly let up, letting you catch you a small breath before they jump back into their drop D pummelling. Singer Joseph Grillo does an excellent Walter Schreifels impersonation in this song and the following, "Patient Mouth." This track slips into a midtempo 6/8 groove, again with guitars whipping you until you cave in at their feet. It's loud, powerful, and it rocks.

The group lets their poppier side show on the EP's last track, "The Sound." It's a jangly rocker reminiscent of bands like the Liars Academy with catchy "ooo"s in the background, and a damn fine hook suitable for any college radio station worth it's salt. It's only problem is it's length - the song cracks 5 minutes. Some bands can pull off the 5 minute rocker [Hum's "The Stars" being a perfect example], but this song falls flat after the chorus is repeated roughly a million times.

Regardless, the EP sounds damn good, if not derivative. The disc was recored by Andrew Schneider, the man responsible for Cave In's newest EP, so you know everything's going to sound right on this record. Almost a little too right for my liking, frankly. I get the feeling that he stood over these guys as they plucked every string, making sure everything was perfect. When I listen to these songs, I want to imagine myself hearing them in a dark club watching the band sweat their emotions out onstage. The EP leaves that image a bit flat, but that only makes me want to hear them more to prove my ears wrong. As for now, these guys have a solid EP on their hands, but it's not as brilliant as some people might say it is.

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