Ebbz and Flowzzzz: Modern Skirts- Gramahawk

Unsigned (Really?); 2011

Ebb'd and Flow'd & Top Tune'd-- 8.3

I first ran into the Modern Skirts a few years back when Paste was still issuing a physical version of their magazine. Those times were brilliant, flipping through and earmarking the pages of the magazine, discovering new tunes and artists, and most of all, getting lost in the monthly sampler cd. Out of the many samplers I wore out, there is one in particular that I remember above all others-- not because it was as a collective, better than the rest, not because it turned me on to the most bands I'd never heard of, no, it was because of the inclusion of Modern Skirts' "Soft Pedals". David Lowery of Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker said, "On 'Soft Pedals' they hit all twelve tones in the scale, yet the song is as accessible as anything Brian Wilson ever wrote." You know, Brian Wilson, from The Beach Boys... This was and is a special song, and while I was slightly disappointed with the rest of the album, All Of Us In Our Night, it was only because "Soft Pedals" set the bar ridiculously high. Despite the fact, All Of Us In Our Night was without question one of my favorite albums of 2008.

In between then and now the Modern Skirts have toured extensively, even opening for R.E.M. twice on their European tour (Mike Mills, guitarist for R.E.M. has cited Modern Skirts as his favorite Athens, GA band-- R.E.M. happens to call Athens home just as the Modern Skirts do), but have struggled in finding a direction for a follow up album. Too many comparisons to Ben Folds and somewhat watered down lyrics on their last seemed to frustrate the band. However, they seemed to strike gold in the bedroom recordings of frontman Jay Gulley. The best demos became templates for what eventually became Gramahawk. Gramahawk is a stylistic shift for the Modern Skirts, the recordings while not lo-fi, sound that way in contrast to their past work. The songs are more intimate, less immediately accessible, but much more rewarding as a whole.

Gramahawk is a dark, oddly twisted, mildly hilarious journey through Gulley's mind,“a mariachi band and me removing your top” (“Ship Shape”), and it is absolutely worthwhile. The band does well to turn his bedroom tapes into full band songs that are sophisticated and mature while maintaining accessibility. Reverbnation describes the record as, "Gleeful and twisted pop evil," a precise description of a record filled with sugary sweet hooks, rompy synths, and harmonies reminiscent of The Beach Boys. Gramahawk will not be the Modern Skirts definitive album, but their shift in aesthetic is a turn in the right direction for a band sure to have a definitive album. Gramahawk seems more honest than their last discs, more intimate, more confident, and much more fun. And while it took me a few more spins to fully appreciate, I can guarantee it won't be too far out of my 2011 playlist.

Opening track from Gramahalk, "Jane Child"

Jane Child