Gretel – ‘The Meteorite’

Gretel
‘The Meteorite’

Folk music with a dash of production ‘jiggery-pokery’ and a lot of talent.  Gretel have a knack for making the smallest subject seem epic without the need for the usual bangs and whistles.  Instead they utilise many different and, for me anyway, new sounds layered in a very organic way.  Whether it’s a simple snare drum or a type-writer, Gretel use the unusual to drive their melodies and the end result is some very special folk indeed.

‘(jingle)’ Is a cute and quirky start to the EP, showcasing their harmonies very nicely.

‘Carlotta’ has a very atmospheric intro with a mournful trumpet playing over music that feels quite unsettling after a few moments.  When the actual track begins it has a more whimsical tone, mainly due to the tempo, but it moves back into unease with layered harmonies.

‘Morning’ is a beautiful, melancholic tale of breaking free from everything familiar and believing you are meant for more.  I feel that it’s a song about the courage most people would like to think they possess, the courage to follow your heart no matter how terrifying the path.

‘Can I Still Come Over’ has an Ane Brun quality to its guitar style, a very hypnotic, moving melody.  Lyrically Gretel are head and shoulders above most of what you’re used to hearing, but then again, they are folk – a genre that is home to a great many fantastic lyricists.  So you could say that when I pressed play I expected a lot.  I wasn’t disappointed.

‘Meteorite’ sounds like it’s building to something really big.  The trumpets verging on fanfare and the typewriters clicking away, waiting for the big story.

‘I Am Japan’ is like ‘Meteorite’ in its creation of a sense of building.

With their quirky sometimes quirky sound-design and beautifully layered harmonies, Gretel are a force to be reckoned with.  Their tracks are destined to be on movie soundtracks and stereos across the country.

Check them out at http://www.gretelmusic.com

http://gretelmusic.squarespace.com/

http://www.myspace.com/gretelmusic

Advertisement