Past Time

Grass Widow
Past Time
Reviewed: 10/19/10

SF-all-girl postpunk trio. Heard this on Spinner a couple months ago, and it became my favorite release so far this year.

The sound is difficult to describe—skeletal guitars, angelic vocal harmonies. It’s like Talulah Gosh/Heavenly coupled with “Murder Mystery”-esque Velvet Underground coupled with Dick Dale, or The Raincoats coupled with The Shaggs coupled with the Beach Boys. Or maybe Reckoning-era R.E.M. coupled with Strawberry Alarm Clock. Sweet, but scary. Catchy, but unintelligible.So, twee surf-rock avant-post-punk? (Really, just listen for five seconds, and make your own call.)

No FCCs—actually, I doubt I could distinguish more than seven words in the course of the album. Everything is woozy, mumbly. And the hooks are tremendous.Everything bleeds together, but the best tracks are 2, 4, 6, 10.

1. Psychedelic minimalist guitar intro, sweetly softly shrieking harmonies enter. (3:18)
2. *** Aching, heavenly vocal harmonies. (3:00)
3. * Maureen Tucker-esque vocal in front, against harmonic bed of voices, and stabbing guitars. (2:55)
4. *** Beautiful harmonies that don’t entirely synch up, a drum solo that sounds like a robot falling down a flight of steps, and some breaks for strings. (1:49)
5. Lower, fiercer main vocal. (2:29)
6. ** Softly screamed “countdown” intro, frenetic guitars, segue into syrupy-sweet three-part harmony. (3:31)
7. * Again, insistent minimalist metronome guitar plays against messy building blocks of vocal harmony. (2:09)
8. * Starts with looping, skipping reel-to-reel sound. Elementary “merrily we go along”-like chant starts in, loosens up after a minute. (2:54)
9. Reaches a higher register, nearly operatic, with fiercely noodling guitars, and cello. (1:54)
10. ** Two-part harmony leads, with a piping, sprightly third voice hopping above it. Ends in a major-chord catharsis, with the sprightly voice finally getting the upper hand. (2:35)

-Hervey Okkles