From the percussive opening track, “Foxtrot,” to the closing underwater dream “Marijuana High,” The Go Rounds’ latest album, Whatever You May Be, kept me hooked with each twist and turn. I was surprised and intrigued by the variety of genre bending vibes they expertly maneuvered. Check out the rockabilly jam “$ombie”–it was love at first listen for me. “Bali” delivered a romantic R&B like groove. “Fleece Down” is an indie rock jewel with Graham Parsons’ sweet vocals giving us the staccato refrain, “Want it, get it, got it, good,” in stark contrast to the languid loving, comforting essence of the song. Parsons’ vocals take on chameleon-like changes, yet maintain their signature timbre.
But, it isn’t just Parsons that can change tone on a dime without losing integrity. Near the end of the otherwise washy “Fleece Downs,” the band kicks up dust with a barn burner ending, almost like the breaking of the dream we had been lulled into. It was the perfect way to lead into the next track, a gospel-like existential, but ultimately optimistic, rocker “Reviver.”
We asked the band what they explored in making the album:
We wanted to create a sense of drama, an experience in which the listener won’t know what to expect next. Bits of rock n roll, americana, soul, experimental – noise clouds, crooning ballads, fuzz guitar, mournful violin, crushing 808s… all weave together to create accessible but surrealistic psychedelic landscapes. We’re continuing to reach for new expressions as noise makers and musicians. We want to see our music bathed in full-spectrum light.
Whatever You May Be plays out as a cycle of self-discovery, propelled and nourished by the death of past projections and patternistic behavior. Those moments of clarity when we see ourselves slipping away from a conscious existence, we can either be sickened by all the time we’ve misspent, or feel overwhelmed by possibility, filled with gratitude for the change in perspective. The opening track, “Foxtrot,” drops us and our past selves onto a new planet, dead and rotting, but also full of life. We’re clawing our way towards something better, we hope. “Do you ever dream of the days you hate to remember?” a line from the track “over and over” is a reminder that change is not a clean break, but rather a gradual, non-linear practice. “Pattern and Vanity” sweats out a toxic relationship with the need for approval and romantic partnerships and is used as a reminder that we are here to lift one another up, to see beyond each other’s weaknesses. “Marijuana High” ends the record in a languid, funereal dream. The main character has the motorcade drive around the block one last time so they can make sure there’s nothing left there worth clinging to. “Marijuana high, fly by, I keep forgetting” is simply stating how quickly we can lose our sense of purpose and precious time here among the living. “I don’t want to lie, by you, hardly caring” is a line that calls out past selves for being idle, stagnant, plagued by atrophy.
It is easy to listen to exactly what you want, whenever you want. You can stay in the bubble of the genre or artist you know and love. Why listen to something new when “there is nothing new under the sun”? Yet, bands can successfully blend different styles to create something that sounds both familiar and fresh; something that can appeal to more people because it will pull on that thing you love–psych, rockabilly, groove, indie rock–and also make you feel welcome to all the others; something that pulls on the things we are struggling with: the universal experiences of life.
The Go Rounds have succeeded in doing all that with their aptly named album, Whatever You May Be.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES:
4/26 Kalamazoo, MI at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe
5/2 Newport, KY at The Southgate House Revival
5/3 Terre Haute, IN at The Verve
5/4 South Bend, IN at First Unitarian Church
5/11 Bowling Green, OH at Howard’s Club H
5/15 Chapel Hill, NC at Local 506
5/16 Charlotte, NC at The Evening Muse
5/17 Black Mountain, NC at Pisgah Brewing Company
5/25 West Olive, MI at Bus Benefit 2019
6/15 Sawyer, MI at Lake Michigan Shore Wine Fest
6/22 Wolverine, MI at Sol of the Lost Tamarack
6/30 Ann Arbor, MI at The Ark
7/12 Milwaukee, WI at The Back Room at Colectivo
7/14 Chicago, IL at Schubas