Grub Animal

Grub Animal (2010)

Joe Pelone

Grub Animal just wasn't made for these times. The Brooklyn quartet deals in jittery post-punk/new wave, resurrecting sounds long since mined by the likes of Talking Heads, the Call and the Bongos. The group's self-titled full-length proves tiresome well before its 30-minute running time concludes.

Here's the thing: a key part of rock ‘n' roll comes from thievery. There are only so many chords, so many beats, so many ways to say "whoa" and "yeah" and "hunger dunger dang." But Grub Animal can't figure out how to use what they've stolen. Sure, some of their songs sound like they came from 77, but none of them captures the fire or wit of that record. The songs are often so inane lyrically and midtempo musically that the whole thing just feels cheap.

Frontman Randa Eid often slips into pre-verbal ramblings during the songs, like the second halves of "I Am Quite Unable" or "Day Brings New Love." And while most bands will slip in the occasional "la la la" to attract listeners, here it just feels like he has nothing else to say. Sometimes the jibberish pays off--the caterwauling Fulci-fest "Zombi at My Door" is an awesome indie rocker in the vein of Modest Mouse/U.S. Funk Team. But moments like that are lacking. Grub Animal's successes are few, its failures many.