Griddle, Klimty Favela

Griddle has the potential to completely rock out, as the band demonstrates on the first track of Klimty Favela, “City Made of Teeth.” Starting out with a dark, indie-rock sound, the song quickly erupts with ridiculous falsetto vocals and theatrical, arena-rock riffs. Unfortunately, Griddle isn’t interested in rocking out but rather in exploring the depths of improv-psychedelic jams.

Klimty Favela was created by the members of Griddle recording hours of themselves jamming, poring over tapes, and selecting the best segments. The selections then had additional instruments and vocals layered over them; creating 12 songs on the album. It’s a novel way to go about recording a record, but as can be expected with such experimentation, the success of the songs vary wildly. Decidedly bad are songs like “Jobsite,” which is little more than a staticky cellphone conversation spliced over a distant guitar. The majority of the tracks falls into the range of decent to somewhat enjoyable, but the album lacks the coherence of music that someone thought out and composed. The “jam band” element is always in the background to some extent — the only song that really manages to break free and truly catch your attention is the aforementioned “City Made of Teeth”.

Unless you’re a diehard fan of odd, improvisational psych-rock, you won’t dig Klimty Favela. Griddle attempted to record the album in an inventive and original way, but in the end it’s an experiment that failed. It’s unfortunate, too, because Griddle definitely has potential. Hopefully on their next album they’ll focus more on the rock side of the music and a little less on the improvisational aspect.